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SOILS AND PLANT LIFE AS RELATED 
TO AGRICULTURE 



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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 




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SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



AS 



RELATED TO AGRICULTURE 



BY 
J. C. CUNNINGHAM 

PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE AND BOTANY IN TWO-YEAE COURSE IN AGRICULTUBE 

AND TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE TO RURAL AND GRADE TEACHERS 

IOWA STATE COLLEGE, AMES, IOWA 

AND 

AV. H. LANCELOT 

INSTRUCTOR IN CHEMISTRY, TWO-YEAR COURSE IN AGEICULTUEB 
IOWA STATE COLLEGE 



1 » 



Neto gork 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1915 

All rights reserved 




Copyright, 1915, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published August, 1915. 






NorfajooU i^ress 

J. 8. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 

CI.A410231 



PREFACE 

This publication represents a desire on the part of the 
senior author to present a first study in agriculture for rural, 
grade, and high schools, based upon sound educational 
principles. 

An enumeration of a few of these principles will serve as 
a key to the plan of the book : 

1. Pupils must be led by easy steps from the known to 
the unknown. 

2. One thing at a time must be taught and this one thing 
must be thoroughly understood. 

3. Real progress in education depends upon a pupil's 
ability to discern agreements and differences. 

4. A teacher should stimulate and direct, but all educa- 
tion comes from the pupil's voluntary effort. 

Our purpose in the pages that follow is to stimulate and 
direct the pupils in such a manner that they will proceed by 
" easy steps from the known to the unknown " and that 
their mental powers will be developed by their own volun- 
tary efforts. 

If this book is to be merely one from which a certain 
number of pages are assigned to-day to be recited in a 
parrot-like manner to-morrow, it must prove a complete 
failure. 

If the exercises are performed as the authors have in- 
tended, a few — and only a few — set rules will be observed : 

First. — The pupil must understand clearly before begin- 
ning just what he is setting out to do. 

Second. — He should folloio the directions carefully. 

Third. — In his conclusion, he should be expected not 



vi PREFACE 

only to show a clear discernment of " agreements and dif- 
ferences " but to state them clearly in his notebook. 

The exercises which are here presented can not be per- 
formed in all schools by each pupil. The work can easily 
be completed, however, by assigning one exercise to a cer- 
tain pupil or group of pupils, the next to another individual 
or group, and so on. The exercises may be worked out 
either in the schoolroom or at home, according to the judg- 
ment of the teacher. There is no better training for a pupil 
than that of presenting before a class the facts he has found 
out for himself. 

In the back of the book will be found a list of materials 
which should be gathered together and stored in some sort 
of box before school opens. Better still, a cabinet may be 
made, or secured, in which the materials can be compactly 
stored. This will save space, which is always at a premium 
in the schoolroom. All pieces of apparatus should be 
washed clean, wiped dry, and put back in their places as 
soon as the work is completed. This will save the teacher 
much trouble, while it will at the same time tend to teach 
the pupils neatness and order. 

Each pupil should have a durably bound notebook of 
specified size, a drawing pencil, and a small hand lens. 

In addition to a box for the storage of equipment, another 
should be provided in which a few plants or other perish- 
able articles may be protected from freezing. Ordinarily, 
it simplifies the work to have some person in the commu- 
nity grow the potted plants which require care and attention 
in order that they may develop properly. 

The material in this book is presented as a first study in 
agriculture. It deals alone with soils and plants, for we 
think that agricultural subjects can best be divided mto plant 
studies and animal studies. The latter should be presented 
as a second, or advanced year's work. 

It must not be understood that the chapters in this book 



PREFACE Vll 

are necessarily to be followed in the order given. On the 
other hand, any combination of chapters which is best titted 
to the season may be adopted. For instance, when school 
opens in the fall, flowers and seeds can be easily obtained. 
Chapter XII will make an excellent starting point at this 
time. Then may follow Chapters XIII and VII, after 
which one may turn back to the beginning of the book and 
proceed in regular order, reviewing or omitting the chapters 
already studied. Exercise 36, however, should be started 
in the late fall, regardless of the order that is followed in 
the book. 

Teaching agriculture is a delightful task, provided we do 
not attempt to tell " how to farm." All we should attempt 
to do is to stimulate and direct the pupil in his desire to 
find out the fundamental principles of good farming. 

It is our privilege to unify or to " make one " the school 
work and the common experiences and practices of the farm 
to the end that life in the open country may be richer and 
fuller for all of us who dwell there. 

In the preparation of this work, the senior author has 
been ably assisted by W. H. Lancelot, a man of wide expe- 
rience both in educational and in editorial work. 

Recognition is also due to Mr. Willard Zeller, a highly 
successful corn grower and breeder of Cooper, Iowa, who 
reviewed the chapter on corn. 

H. L. Eichling, Associate Professor of Agronomy, and 
teacher of agriculture for rural and grade teachers in the 
summer school of Iowa State College, has carefully reviewed 
the chapters on soils and farm crops and has offered very 
many helpful suggestions. 

I desire to express my appreciation of this valuable 
assistance. 

J. C. CUNNINGHAM. 
Ames, Iowa, 

June 1, 1915. 



A LETTER TO THE STUDENT 

Nearly sixty years ago a lad ten or twelve years of age 
gathered together in his father's cellar a collection of bot- 
tles, jars, chemicals, and other equipment. He had gone to 
school but three months in his life. Yet with the help of 
his mother, he read the best books she could secure. He 
obtained a copy of Parker's School Philosophy and worked 
out in his " den " in the cellar almost every experiment in 
the book. Moreover, he tested to his satisfaction many of 
the statements he encountered in his reading. 

People would have smiled if, fifty years ago, any one had 
said of this lad of Port Huron, Michigan : " He will make the 
streets of your cities at night as light as day. He will 
reproduce music and the human voice on cylinders of wax. 
He will make it possible for every village to have a moving 
picture show. He will use electricity instead of horses to 
propel your street cars." Yet Thomas Alva Edison has 
brought these very things and more to pass. He laid the 
foundation for these great inventions by working out for 
himself the statements he found in his books. 

The boy on the following page holds in his hands a rock 
and a bit of soil. He has been told that soil comes from 
rocks ; that plants draw their nourishment from the soil and 
the air ; that when they die, they also become a part of the 
soil. On the pages that follow are found brief directions 
for learning some of the truths about the soil and plants. 
Let us together perform the experiments. Very few, or 

ix 



X 



A LETTER TO THE STUDENT 



perhaps none of us, will become great inventors like 
Mr. Edison ; yet we can open a storehouse, tilled with 




Boy with a rock and a bit of soil. 

wonderful treasures of knowledge about the plants, the 
animals, and the soil that we see every day. 

Great buildings are constructed by laying stone upon 
stone. Real knowledge is gained by proving one truth after 
another. 

The first question to ask is, " What is my object, or what 
do I wish to find out ? " 



A LETTER TO THE STUDENT XI 

The second step is ijrocedure : " How shall I go about it 
to find out ? " 

The third is the conclusion : " What liave I found out, or 
proved ? " 

We should keep a notebook, in which to make a neat, 
careful record of the experiments we perform. Here is an 
illustration from a student's notebook, which shows about 
how the exercises which follow should be recorded : 

EXERCISE 9 

Object. — To learn what effect plowing under a heavy 
crop of straw has upon the rise of water in the soil. 

Procedure. — I stretched a piece of cheesecloth across the 
bottom of a lamp chimney and tied it firmly in place. 
Then I filled the chimney two thirds full of fine soil, added 
one half inch of finely chopped straw, and added fine soil 
again until the chimney was full. I put the lower end of 
the chimney into a pan of water, and watched the moisture 
rise through the soil. 

I filled another chimney exactly as I had filled the first, 
except that I left out the layer of straw. I put the lower 
end of this chimney into the water and watched the mois- 
ture rise through the soil. 

Conclusion. — The water was drawn up through the soil 
just as a lamp wick draws up the oil. In the first chimney, 
the water rose as far as the straw, and there it stopped. 
In the second chimney, it rose to the surface of the soil. 
This must mean, then, that when any thing like a layer of 
straw or weeds or perhaps even clods is plowed under, the 
" wicks " or tubes in the soil are broken. In this case, the 
moisture could not rise to the roots of the young plants, 
and they would be injured and perhaps die unless there was 
plenty of rain. 

Exercises, such as this, will very often lead to a desire on 
your part to perform the same work on a larger scale in the 



Xll 



A LETTER TO THE STUDENT 



field. The general procedure, however, should be the same. 
Know your object, or what you wish to find out ; proceed 
by securmg a plot of ground and following carefully the plan, 
which is to test your theories ; and finally, think over your 
results very carefully, turning them over and over in your 
mind, as we say, so that you may not finally reach a conclu- 
sion that is untrue, or one that is only partly true. 




Winners of a corn growing contest. 

A great many people will be interested in your conclu- 
sions, especially if they prove to be accurate and true, for 
the principal way of securing the much needed increase in 
our crop yields is yiot to farm more land, since the best of it 
is now under the plow, but to increase the yield per acre of 

that which we are now farming. 

J. C. CUNNINGHAM. 
W. H. LANCELOT. 



CONTENTS 



PAGK8 

Preface v-vii 

A Letter to the Student ...... 



ix-xu 



SOILS 

CHAPTER I 
How Soils are Made and Mixed . ... 1-12 

What the Soil is, 1 — Grinding up the Rocks, 1 — Soil 
Names, or Types, 4 — Two Sources of Soil Material, 5 — 
The Part Plant Life plays in making Soils, 7 — The Part 
Animal Life plays in making and mixing Soils, 8 — Ele- 
ments in the Soil and Air which Plants must have in 
Order to make a Healthy Growth, 10. 

CHAPTER n 
The Water in the Soil ....... 13-24 

How the Soil loses Water, 13 — The Water which 
runs off the Surface, 13— The Water which filters down 
through the Soil and drains away, 16 — How Water en- 
ters Drain Tile, 18 — Three Kinds of Water in the Soil, 
19 — How Film Moisture works its Way upward in the 
Soil, 21 — How the Farmer prevents the Escape of Film 
Moisture, 23. 

CHAPTER III 

The Air in the Soil 25-29 

Why Air is necessary in the Soil, 25 — Why we seek 
to control the Air Space in the Soil, 26 — How we may 
get More Air into the Soil, 28. 

xiii 



xiv CONTENTS 



CHAPTER IV 

PAGES 

The Temperature of the Soil ...... 30-35 

Proper Temperature Necessary for Germination, 30 — 
How Temperature of the Soil is governed, 30 — How the 
Air Space in a Soil affects its Temperature, 31 — How 
the Moisture in a Soil affects its Temperature, 33 — How 
the Color of a Soil affects its Temperature, 34 — The 
Advantages of a Warm Soil, 34. 



CHAPTER V 

The Tillage of Soils 36-43 

Why we till the Soil, 36 — Improving the Texture and 
Structure of the Soil, 36 — One Cause of Cloddy Fields, 
39 — Covering, or Working into the Soil, Organic Mat- 
ter, 40 — Putting Seed into the Seed Bed, 40 — Destroy- 
ing Weeds, 41 — Forming a Dust Mulch, 42 — Making 
it Possible for Air and Water to enter the Soil, 42. 



PLANT LIFE 

CHAPTER VI 

The Round of Plant Life 44-45 

The Life Cycle of Plants, 44 — How the Parts of a 
Plant work together, 44. 



CHAPTER VII 

The Seed : Its Selection and Distribution . . . 46-61 
The Functions of the Seed, 46 — How the Embryo is 
protected, 46 — How Seeds are scattered by Nature, 46 
— How Seeds are scattered by Man, 49 — Making a 
Seed Collection, 50 — How Nature selects Seeds, 52 — 
How Man selects Seeds, 52 — Selecting Specimens for 
. Corn Judging, 56 — Nature stores No Seeds but provides 
for Loss, 57 — Man's Storage of Seeds, 58. 



CONTENTS XV 

CHAPTER VTII 

PAGES 

Seed Germination . . . ' . . . . . 62-76 

What a Seed is, 62 — Two Great Classes of Plants, 62 
— The Conditions required for Seed Germination, 64 — 
Moisture and Germination, 65 — Temperature and Ger- 
mination, 67 — Changes which take place within the 
Germinating Seed, 68 — Heat generated during Germi- 
nation, 71 — How Size of Seed affects Growth of Young 
Plant, 73 — Direction of Growth, 74 — The Embryo be- 
comes a Seedling, 75. 

CHAPTER IX 

The Work of Roots 77-88 

What Roots do, 77 — Gathering Food and Moisture, 
77 — Roots are able to select the Minerals which they 
need, 79 — The Origin of Roots, 80 — How Roots work 
their Way through the Soil, 81 — The Extent and Depth 
of Roots, 82 — How Roots help dissolve Mineral Matter, 
84 — How Roots hold Plants Erect, 85 — The Root a 
Storehouse of Food, 87 — Benefits of Roots, 88. 

CHAPTER X 

The Work of Leaves ....... 89-97 

Functions and Uses of t-eaves, 89 — The Manufacture 
of Starch, 89 — The Green Leaf likened to a Mill, 90 — 
How Other Foods are made, 91 — Amount of Water, 
Food Material, and Ash in Plants, 92 — The Water 
given off by Leaves, 93 — Storage of Food in the 
Leaves, 96. 

CHAPTER XI 

The Work of Stems ........ 98-106 

The Functions of Stems, 98 — The Forms of Stems, 
98 — Prostrate Stems, 98 — Climbing Stems, 99 — Erect 
Stems, 99 — Study of the Forms of Stems, 100 — How 
Water travels from Roots to Leaves, 101 — How to tell 
the Age of a Tree, 102 — How Food travels from Leaves 



xvi CONTENTS 

PAGES 

to Roots, 103 — The Flow of Sap, 104— The Cambium 
Layer, 104 — Rope, Twine and Linen Material, 105. 

CHAPTER XII 
Thb Work of Flowers . . . = . . • 107-116 
The Work in which All Parts join, 107 — What the 
Flower does, 107 — Parts of the Flower on Separate 
Plants or on Different Parts of the Same Plant, 110 — 
How the Pollen gets from one Plant to another, 110 — 
The Flowers which depend upon Insects to carry Pollen, 
111 — The Flowers which depend upon Wind to carry 
Pollen, 111 — What happens after the Pollen reaches 
the Stigma, 112 — Cross-fertilization the Rule, 113 — 
Cross-fertilization by Hand, 113. 

CHAPTER XIII 
The Formation and Development of Seed . . . 117-121 
How the Food is stored in the Seed, 117 — How Man 
may thwart Nature's Plan, 118 — The Forms and Uses 
of the Various Food Materials in the Seed, 120. 

CHAPTER XIV 

The Propagation of Plants 122-144 

How Plants are Propagated, 122 — Propagation by 
Spores, 124 — How Spores are Spread, 127 — How to 
prevent the Spread and Growth of the Spores of Disease, 
128 — Conditions which favor the Entrance and Growth 
of Spores, 133 — Propagation by Seed, 133 — Propaga- 
tion by some Part of the Plant other than Seed or 
Spore, 134 — Plants formed while still attached to the 
Parent Plant, 134 — Plants formed by Portions which 
become detached from Parent Plant, 136— Plants formed 
by the Union of Two Plants, 138. 

CHAPTER XV 
Why Man Cultivates Plants 146-148 

Classes of Plants according to the Parts for which 
they are cultivated, 145. 



CONTENTS 



XVll 



CHAPTER XVI 



Corn 



Uses of Corn, 149 — Distribution of Corn, 150 — How 
the Corn Plant has changed as it has moved Northward, 
151 — Climatic Keqiiirements of the Corn Plant, 152 — 
Soil Requirements of the Corn Plant, 154 — The Pro- 
duction of Corn, 154 — Selection of the Seed, 154 — The 
Selection of the Seed Supply, 169 — How Selection of 
Seed may influence the Yield, 172 — Drying out the 
Seed, 172 — Storing the Seed, 173 — Testing the Seed, 
174 — Grading the Seed, 179 — The Ideal Seed Bed for 
Corn, 181 — Preparing a Seed Bed in Sod Ground, 182 
— Preparing a Seed Bed in Cornstalk Ground, 184 — 
Preparing a Seed Bed in Stubble Ground, 185 — Plant- 
ing the Seed, 185 — The Time of Planting, 187 — The 
Depth of Planting, 188 — Distance between the Rows, 
189 — The Number of Kernels in Each Hill, 189 — The 
Replanting of the Missing Hills, 190 — Cultivation be- 
gins with the Harrow, 191 — Later Cultivation of the 
Crop, 191 — Depth of Cultivation, 193 — Frequency of 
Cultivation, 194 — Cultivation of Listed Corn, 195 — 
Harvesting the Crop, 196 — Crops used as Substitutes 
for Corn, 198 — Planting and cultivating Kafir Corn 
and Similar Drouth-resistant Crops, 200. 



PAGES 

149-202 



CHAPTER XVII 
The Small Grains 

Why Wheat is so extensively grown, 203 — Climatic 
Conditions Favorable for the Growth of Wheat, 205 — 
Winter and Spring Wheat, 205 — Systems of Rotation, 
205 — The Seed Bed and how to prepare it, 206 — Selec- 
tion of the Seed, 207 — Planting the Seed, 210 — Har- 
vesting the Wheat, 211 — The Uses of Wheat, 212 — 
Oats a Cool Climate Crop, 213 — Varieties of Oats, 214 
— Preparation of the Seed Bed, 215 — The Selection of 
Oats for Seed, 216— Harvesting the Crop, 218 — Shock- 
ing and Stacking Oats, 218 — The Uses of Oats, 219 — 
Oatmeal, 219 —Methods of Cultivation and Uses of Bar- 
ley, 221 — Soil Requirements and Uses of Rye, 221 — 



203-224 



xviii CONTENTS 

PAGES 

The Soil Requirements of Rice, 222 — Preparation of tlie 
Seed Bed, 222 — Planting the Seed, 223 — Caring for the 
Growing Crop, 223 — How the Grain is prepared for Use, 
223 — Uses of Rice, 224. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Grasses for Pastures, Meadows and Lawns . . . 225-237 

Characteristics of all the Grasses, 225 — A Peculiar 
Habit of Growth, 226 — Wild Grasses, 227 — Cultivated 
Grasses, 227 — Where and how Timothy is grown, 227 — 
Advantages and Disadvantages of Timothy, 228 — When 
to cut Timothy, 229 — The Character and Value of Blue 
Grass, 230 — The Seeding of Blue Grass, 231 — Advan- 
tages and Disadvantages of Blue Grass, 232 — The Range 
and Character of Redtop, 232 — Its Advantages and Dis- 
advantages, 233 — The Range and Character of Bermuda 
Grass, 234 — Advantages and Disadvantages of Bermuda 
Grass, 234 — Where each Grass thrives, 236 — Why 
Clovers should be grown with Grasses, 236. 

CHAPTER XIX 

Clovers and Other Legumes ...... 238-273 

Characteristics of the Legumes, 238 — How Legumes 
benefit the Farmer, 239 — How Legumes add Nitrogen 
to the Soil, 240 — How Roots of Legumes open the Soil, 
241 — How Legumes add Humus to the Soil, 241 — How 
Legumes make other Plant Food Available, 241 — How 
Legumes balance the Food Ration, 242 — How Legumes 
assist in the Control of Insects and Fungous Pests, 242 — 
Where the Different Legumes grow, 242 — Why Clovers 
frequently fail, 250 — How Acid Soil affects Clovers, 252 
— How a Lack of Phosphorus affects Clovers, 254 — 
How a Lack of Humus affects Clovers, 255 — How Ab- 
sence of Friendly Bacteria affects the Clovers, 255 — 
How the Nurse Crop may affect Clovers, 256 — How the 
Method of Seeding may affect Clovers, 256 —How Drouth 
may affect Young Clovers, 257 — How to succeed with 
Clovers, 258 — How to correct an Acid Soil, 258 — How 



CONTENTS xix 

PAGES 

to add Humus and Phosphorus to the Soil, 259 — How 
Bacteria are added to the Soil, 259 — The most Suitable 
Nurse Crops for Clovers, 260 — How the Seed should be 
planted, 261 — Seed Selection and Analysis, 261 — Table 
of Weed Seed Weights, 265 — Methods of Culture of the 
Legumes, 266 — Securing the Maximum Benefits from 
Legumes, 272. 

CHAPTER XX 

The Fiber Crops 274-286 

Three Crops yielding Valuable Fibers, 274 — Valuable 
Products Other than Fiber, 274 — The Importance of 
Cotton, 275 — Where Cotton is grown in the United 
States, 275 — The Cotton Plant, 276 — Growing the Cot- 
ton Crop, 277 — Harvesting the Crop, 280 — Ginning the 
Cotton, 280 — Proportion and Value of Seed and Lint, 
281 — How and where Flax is Grown, 282 — Methods of 
Handling and Value of the Fiber and Seed, 283. 

CHAPTER XXI 

Fruit Growing 287-310 

Horticulture and Agriculture, 287 — Where Our Fruits 
originated, 287 — Developing the Young Tree, 288 — The 
Location of the Orchard, 289 — The Distances between 
the Trees, 289 — Cutting back and Planting the Young 
Trees or Vines, 290 — Cultivation of the Young Plants, 
291— The Training of the Young Plants, 292 — When 
and how Fruit Buds form, 292 — Conditions which favor 
the Formation of Fruit Buds, 293 — Age of Wood upon 
which Fruit Buds appear, 294 — The Reasons for Prun- 
ing, 298 — Methods of Pruning, 299 — Precautions to be 
taken in Pruning, 304 — Protecting Fruit-bearing Plants 
from their Enemies, 305 — Gathering and Storing the 
Fruit, 309. 

CHAPTER XXII 

Vegetable Growing 311-329 

Cool Season Crops, 311 — Warm Season Crops, 312 — 
Getting ahead of the Season, 312 — In the Garden 



XX CONTENTS 

PAGES 

Proper, 315 — The First Planting, 317 — When the Dan- 
ger of Frost is Past, 323. 

CHAPTER XXIII 

Permanent Agriculture ....... 330-337 

The Result of selling Crops from the Land, 331 — How 
the Three Important Elements of Fertility may be re- 
stored to the Soil, 332 — The Care and Importance of 
Barnyard Manure, 336. 

Equipment • 338-339 

Publications 340-341 

Index • 343-348 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE AS RELATED 
TO AGRICULTURE 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

CHAPTER I 
HOW SOILS ARE MADE AND MIXED 

1. What the Soil Is. — The soil, as we now see it, is 
composed of broken-down rock, mixed with decaying 
plant and animal matter. For milHons upon millions of 
years, no doubt, the work of soil making has been going on. 

2. Grinding up the Rocks. — The earth was once made 
up of rock. Men who have studied the subject long and 
carefully tell us that the heat and the cold, the wind and 
the water, the gases of the air, the plants, and the animals 
have all had a part in breaking down the rocks into rock 
powder and mixing it through and through that more 

.plants and animals might exist. We are told that vast 
fields of ice, called glaciers, moved slowly over many parts 
of the country ages ago, carrying with them rock masses 
and grinding to powder whatever came beneath their 
mountain-hke weight. We read about these great gla- 
ciers and see pictures of them as well in our geographies. 
We are told also that rocks expand with heat and con- 
tract with cold, becoming broken up in this way. We 
know that hot water will break a cold tumbler. W^e have 
seen stones cracked or broken about the fire where we 
cooked our picnic or camp supper. We have seen where 
the water has washed out great hollow places in the rock. 
Moreover, we must know that when the cracks and crev- 
B 1 



2 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

ices in rocks become filled with water and freeze, the rocks 

are broken apart, just as a jug is broken if the water in it 

is allowed to freeze. The particles of rock are not only 

■broken and washed into finer and finer pieces but are 







I 






.■t«Lr*f i^.'**».. 










,i 



Fig. 1. — Rock split by freezing. 



mixed thoroughly with other kinds of rocks and with de- 
caying plants and animals to make the rich, fertile soil 
as we know it. 

Let us study first, then, how the water mixes and lays 
down the soil. 



HOW SOILS ARE MADE AND MIXED 



EXERCISE 1 

Object. — To see how layers of soil are made by the 
action of water. 

Procedure. — Bring half a cupful of soil from any field 
at home or from any place near the school. Put half of 
it in a pint jar or in a wide-mouthed bottle and the re- 
mainder in another. Then fill each a little over half full 
of water. Shake well and allow them to stand until the 
close of school to-day. Then shake again and set them 
aside until class period to-morrow. This is done in order 
to break apart all the small lumps. Number the jars 

one and two. 

Does the soil seem to have settled in distinct layers? 
Which sized particles settled first? Have you not seen 
the soil along the bank of a stream in layers like this? 

Now shake jar number two vigorously again and allow 
the contents to settle one minute. Pour off the water 
into a third empty jar, leaving in the bottom of the second 
the soil that has settled. Allow the third jar to stand one 
hour, and pour off the water into a fourth jar, leaving the 
soil that settled in the third jar. Allow the fourth jar to 
stand until class time to-morrow. 

The soil that settled in one minute is the sand ; that, in 
one hour is called silt; that, in twenty-four hours, the 

clay. 

Do vou find that the lavers of soil in jar number one 
look like the soils in jars two, three and four? 

Dip a little of the soil out of jars two, three and four 
with a small wooden paddle and examine each carefully 
with a hand lens and by rubbing between the thumb and 
fingers. Which one is pasty? Which is made up of 
coarse particles? Would you fike to have a field of pure 
clay? Why not? Would you fike to have one of pure 



4 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

sand? Is it not best to have the sand, silt and clay all 
mixed ? 

Conclusion. — You have seen the largest stones, or 
pebbles, in the swiftest part of the creek or river, and the 
soil in layers near the stream ; and you have seen the finest 
mud on the top of the soil where the water had dried up 
along the roadside. Explain why these things are so. 

3. Soil Names, or Types. — We have seen how a soil 
may be made up of sand, silt and clay. If it contains a 
large amount of sand, we call it a sandy soil ; if of clay, a 
clay soil. ' A soil made up of about one half sand, and the 
other half silt and clay is called a loam soil. If the per- 
centage of silt is large, it is called a silt loam ; of clay, a 
clay loam ; of gravel, a gravelly loam ; of stone, a stony 
loam. 

EXERCISE 2 

Object. — To find the percentage of sand, clay and silt 
in the soil of fields at home or near the school building. 

Procedure. — Secure two or more samples of soil, about 
one half cupful each, from different fields. Place each in a 
jar, which has first been weighed, and weigh again after 
the sample has been put into it. From these weights, 
find the weight of each sample. Now separate the sand, 
silt and clay just as you did in Exercise 1 . Find the weight 
of each of these constituents in each sample, taking care 
that all appear about equally moist when weighed. These 
weights can be determined more easily if all jars used 
are first weighed and the weights recorded. After you 
have found the weight of the sand, the silt and the clay 
in each sample, find what per cent each of these is of the 
original sample. 

Conclusion. — Do you find any difference in the per- 
centage of sand or clay which the different fields contain? 



HOW SOILS ARE MADE AND MIXED 5 

Ask the owner or your father which field can be plowed 
sooner after a rain. Can you tell him why? If a stream 
flows through a soil containing considerable sand, the 
soil near the water is sandier than that farther away. 
Why is this true ? 

4. Two Sources of Soil Material. — The soils which 
we have been studying are made up of a great deal more 
than just pulverized rock. Some of the soils, especially 
if they came from a field which last year was a pasture or 
meadow, or from a fence row, or from the woods, were dark 
in color, crumbled easily in our hands, and had that good, 
rich '' earth " smell. Along the fence row, the weeds and 
grass have grown up, ripened, died down and decayed 
year after year. The soil here must contain a great deal 
of partly decayed plants, which is called humus. This 
makes soil fertile. 

EXERCISE 3 

Object. — To find out how much of the soil comes from 
the rocks and how much from the plants. 

Procedure. — Secure a small can full of soil from under an 
old fence or from a field which was in pasture or meadow 
last year ; also another can from a hillside field that has 
been plowed for a number of years, or from the middle 
of a well traveled road. Examine each carefully, and 
tell all you can about the color and the way each crumbles 
in your hand. Make a mud ball the size of a large marble 
out of each soil and let them dry for ten days. Then try 
to break each one with your fingers or a stick. 

Now place five ounces of one of the soils as it came 
from the field or fence row in an iron pan or old shovel, 
and heat it red hot for at least an hour. Do you see 
any change in color? As soon as the soil is cool, examine 
it to see if it crumbles as easily as it did before. Heat 



6 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 




p 
o 

;-! 

CD 
c3 






a; 






d 

I— « 



HOW SOILS ARE MADE AND MIXED 7 

five ounces of the second soil in the same way for at 
least an hour. Be sure to tell about any change in color 
that may take place during heating. Did any smoke 
come off from either soil? Will rocks burn? Will hay, 
or grass, or weeds burn? When each soil is cool, carefully 
weigh again. Which one has lost the greater weight? 
What reason can you give for this loss? 

Conclusion. — Tell which it is, rocks or plants, that 
gives a rich soil the dark color and good earth smell. 
Tell why it is that a new field can be worked sooner after 
a rain than an old one. By scraping the roads we get 
all the organic matter, or humus, worked out of them ; 
and they then bake hard and firm. If a farmer should 
burn his cornstalks or straw instead of working them into 
the soil again, how would it affect the supply of humus 
in his land? Frequent cultivation aerates the soil and 
hastens decay. Why will several crops of corn in succes- 
sion exhaust the humus in the soil? Land that has been 
in pasture is found to be rich in humus. Likewise the 
addition of manure increases the amount of humus in the 
soil. State two ways in which humus may be added to a 
soil which lacks it. 

5. The Part Plant Life plays in making Soils. — An 

armful of fodder, left lying in the field, or at the bottom 
of a haystack, soon begins to decay. The dead plants 
become covered with blue-black molds, which are them- 
selves living plants, and which are visible to the naked 
eye. These molds, or fungi, as they are called, absorb a 
part of the fodder. The part which remains is acted upon 
by tiny plants, called bacteria, which are too small to be 
seen with the naked eye. These work upon the plant 
remains until the whole is broken down into simple sub- 
stances which the roots of living plants may take up again. 



8 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



When wheat is received at the mills, it is run between 
great steel rollers, and it then passes through a long series 
of processes until it is separated into flour, bran, middlings 
and various other products. 

We may compare the changes which take place in a 
decaying plant with those which take place in the wheat 
as it passes through the mill, but we find a difference. 




Fig. 3. — The cycle from plant to plant again. 

The products of the wheat can not be gathered together 
again to make the kernels from which they came, whereas 
in Nature the plants are broken down and separated by 
the molds and bacteria into simple compounds, which 
are taken up by roots and finally made again into living 
plants. The drawing above will fix in our minds better 
than words how this comes about. 

6. The Part Animal Life plays in making and mixing 
Soils. — A plant may be eaten by an animal. A part 



HOW SOILS ARE MADE AND MIXED 9 

goes to build up the animal's body. The rest is thrown 
off and becomes a part of the soil. Sooner or later the 
animal dies, and its body, too, goes back to the earth 
again. Thus we see that soil becomes the meeting place 
of the mineral kingdom and the kingdom of life. 

Animals not only help to make soils, but they also play a 
very important part in mixing them through and through. 
Gophers spoil our alfalfa, clover and timothy fields, and 
we try to keep them out. The same is true of ground 
hogs, squirrels and other digging animals ; and yet these 
rodents have for ages performed an important part in soil 
making. Each ant-hill is a real soil-mixing mill. 

Perhaps the most important visible member of animal 
life in soil making and mixing is the common earthworm, 
angleworm, or fishworm, as we may choose to call it. 
" These insignificant creatures burrow in moist, rich soil 
and derive their nourishment from the organic matter it 
may contain. In order, however, to obtain this com- 
paratively small amount of nutritive matter, they devour 
the earth without any selective power and pass it through 
their alimentary tracts, rejecting the non-nutritious 
portions, which nearly equal in bulk that first taken in. 
The numerous holes made, while in part perhaps to afford 
passage to the surface, are mainly excavated in this 
process of soil eating, and actually represent the amount 
of material which the worms have passed through their 
digestive systems. 

" Darwin states that in certain parts of England these 
worms bring to the surface every year, in the form of 
excreta, more than ten tons per acre of fine, dry mold, ' so 
that the whole superficial bed of vegetable mold passes 
through their bodies in the course of every few years.' 
By collecting and weighing the excretions deposited on a 
small area during a given time, he found that the rate of 



10 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

accumulation was an inch in every five years. The im- 
portance of the worms, both as mellowers of the soil and 
as levelers of inequalities is therefore very great." 

7. Elements in the Soil and Air which Plants must 
have in Order to make a Healthy Growth. — In this 
brief lesson, we have learned that soil is made up of pow- 
dered rock and decaying vegetable and animal matter. 
We have learned how they are mixed by various agents. 
The soil contains a large number of distinct substances 
called elements. Only ten of them, however, are essential 
to plant growth. Their names together with their chemi- 
cal symbols are given below : 

Carbon (C) Nitrogen (N) Potassium (K) 

Hydrogen (H) Sulfur (S) Calcium (Ca) 

Oxygen (O) Phosphorus (P) Magnesium (Mg) 

Iron (Fe) 

We shall learn in chemistry of the various ways in 
which these elements combine in the soil to form plant 
food. It is enough here for us to know that without any 
one of them a plant can not make healthy growth. 

Carbon, as usually seen, is a black solid. Coal and 
charcoal owe their black color to the fact that they are 
nearly pure carbon. This element comprises about a 
half of the dry matter of all plants, that which is present 
in coal and charcoal coming from plants that have lived 
in the past. All of our foods likewise contain carbon, 
which accounts for their turning black, or charring, when 
burned. Under certain conditions, carbon will unite 
with oxygen, forming carbon dioxide, a gas which is 
found in the atmosphere. The leaves of plants take this 
gas from the air, and in this way, plants get all their 



HOW SOILS ARE MADE AND MIXED 



11 



carbon. It is the only element which they do not take 
from the soil. 

Hydrogen and oxygen are odorless, invisible gases. 
They are not at all ahke, but will unite with each other, 

the compound formed being water, 
H2O. Plants of course draw a great 
deal of water from the soil, and from 
this water they take the hydrogen 
and oxygen which they must have in 
order to live. 

Nitrogen, too, is an invisible gas, 
but it differs greatly from both 
hydrogen and oxygen. It com- 
prises nearly four fifths of the at- 
mosphere ; yet plants, whose leaves 
are held aloft in it, can take none 
whatever from the air. Instead, 





B C li 

— Plants growing in water cultures. 

A, plant receives all the essential elements; B, plant receives all 
essential elements except nitrogen ; C, plant receives all essential 
elements except phosphorus ; D, plant receives all essential elements 
except potassium. 

it combines with other elements ; and the compounds 
so formed, which are found in the soil, are dissolved 
and carried upward into the plant by the soil water. 

Sulfur is commonly seen as a yellow powder, which 
produces suffocating fumes when burned. Phosphorus is 



12 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

less familiar to us. Because it is so easily ignited, it is 
much used in making matches. Iron, potassium, calcium 
and magnesium are metals. These six elements combine 
in many different ways in the soil, forming compounds 
which, like those of nitrogen, are dissolved by the soil 
water and carried along by it when it passes upward into 
the plant. 

There are very few soils which are deficient in any of 
the essential elements save nitrogen, phosphorus and potas- 
sium. The great problem of maintaining a sufficient 
supply of these three elements in the land so that agricul- 
ture may be carried on perpetually remains one for the 
consideration of all people who till the soil or expect to 
continue to get from it an adequate food supply. The 
strength of nations has always been drawn from the soil. 
A system of perynanent agriculture is therefore indispensa- 
ble to the prosperity and happiness of our people. As a 
fitting close to our first study of agriculture, we shall 
make our last lesson one on maintaining the fertility of the 
soil. 

QUESTIONS 

L Define the term soil. 

2. From what three kingdoms do the materials for soils 
come ? 

3. Name three agents which have helped to break down rock. 
Tell how each works. 

4. How c£tn you separate soil into clay, sand and silt? 

5. Name three agents which have helped to mix soil. Tell 
how each works. 

6. Define humus. How does a soil feel, when handled, 
and how does it smell when it contains plenty of humus? 

7. Compare the weight of a cupful of soil containing plenty 
of humus with one lacking humus. 

8. Name the ten elements essential to plant growth and tell 
how the plant gets each one. 

9. What part of the dry matter of plants is carbon? 



CHAPTER II 

THE WATER IN THE SOIL 

A SOIL may be ever so rich in both mineral and organic 
matter and yet lack water. There can be no crops unless 
water is added to the soil in the form of rain or by means 
of irrigation. 

8. How the Soil loses Water. — We may liken the 
soil to a great sponge, standing ready to receive whatever 
moisture comes to it. Soils, like sponges, vary in their 
ability to receive and hold water. Rain or irrigation 
water received by the soil is lost or escapes in Jour ways : 

First : it runs off the surface. 

Second : it filters down through the soil and drains 
away. 

Third : it evaporates from the surface as standing water, 
or as water which was first taken in by the soil and later 
worked its way to the surface. 

Fourth : it is taken in by the roots of plants and escapes 
as water vapor from their leaves. 

9. The Water which runs off the Surface. — The 
amount of water which runs off from any soil depends of 
course upon the amount of rain, the rate at which it falls 
and the amount of moisture already in the soil. There is 
another factor, however, greater than any of these; the 
rate at which the soil can take up water and the capacity 
of the soil to hold water. Let us prove that this is true. 

13 



14 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



EXERCISE 4 



Object. — To see how soil types vary in the rate at 
which they take up water. 

Procedure. — Tie pieces of cheesecloth firmly over the 
small ends of three lamp chimneys or glass cylinders. 




Fig. 5. — Adding water to the soil. 



Fill the first one with clay, the second with silt, the third 
with sand. These soils should be air dried, and then 
worked through a piece of fine screen wire. Tap the 
chimneys or cylinders firmly on the table to settle the soil. 
Place the tubes in a rack, and proceed as shown in the 
following illustration. 

Three tumblers or cups of equal capacity should be 



THE WATER IN THE SOIL 



15 



used, so that each cylinder may receive the same amount of 
water. Record the time when you begin, and see how 
long it takes each soil to take up the water, how long it 
takes the water to reach the bottom of each chimney, or 
cylinder, after being added at the top, and how much 
water passes through each soil in a given time. The 
amount of water that passes through each soil may be 
collected in glasses below the chimneys and measured. 
A table like this will help you to keep an accurate record 
in vour notebook : 



Soil 



Sand 

Silt 

Clay 



Ti 


ME ] 


First 


Water Added 


9: 


30 


A.M. 


9: 


30 


A.M. 


9: 


30 


A.M. 



Time Water 

Reached 

Bottom 



9 : 34 A.M. 



Time Re- 
quired for 
Soil to take 
UP Cup of 
Water 



8 minutes 



Amt. of Water 
WHICH Passed 
through Soil 
IN Ten Min- 
utes 



f cup 



Conclusion. — There are millions of acres of sandy 
hills in the United States and there are scarcely any gullies 
washed in them. Clay hills are always full of washouts. 
How long did it take the clay to take up the cup of water ? 
Why do the clay hills wash so much worse than those 
made up largely of sand ? 



EXERCISE 5 

Object. — To determine the relation of the amount of 
humus in the soil to the amount of water it will take up and 
hold. 

Procedure. — Fill a can with soil from the middle of a 
well traveled road; another with soil from an old fence 
row near by, so that the two soils will be as nearly alike 
as possible except for the amount of organic matter which 



16 SOILS A'ND PLANT LIFE 

each contains. Dry them in air and sift each one. Secure 
other samples if possible, being careful to get two of each 
type of soil, one of which is worn out while the other is 
rich in humus. 

Cut holes about one inch in diameter in the bottom of 
tomato cans, if you do not have on hand those prepared 
for this exercise. Place a piece of screen wire over each 
hole, then a piece of cheesecloth over the wire. FiU as 
many of these cans level full as you have samples of soil. 
Label each one, for instance, " Sandy Loam from the 
Center of the Road," " Sandy Soil from Old Fence Row," 
etc. Remember always to work the.m in pairs, the worn 
out and the rich soil of the same type. Carefully record 
the weight of each can both before it is filled with soil and 
afterwards so that you can tell exactly how much soil is 
in each one. 

Place the cans in a pan or bucket and pour water around 
but not on them. It should stand within one half inch 
of the top of the cans. At the class period the following 
day, remove them and set them in a cool place to drain. 
After two days weigh each can again. 

Conclusion. — Tell how much water each soil has taken 
up. Figure the percentage of moisture taken up and 
held by the soil in each can. A soil containing plenty of 
humus does not dry out as readily as one poor in humus. 
Why? Ask your father or any good farmer in the neigh- 
borhood which field dries out first, one which was in pasture 
or meadow a year or two ago, or one which has been cul- 
tivated for a number of years. Ask him if a clay soil, 
rich in organic matter, dries out as soon as a sandy one. 
Summarize all this information in your conclusion. 

10. The Water which filters down through the Soil 
and drains away. — The sky may be clear overhead. 



THE WATER IN THE SOIL 



17 



Perhaps we have had no rain for two or three weeks; 
yet here may be a bubbhng spring, or there ^ clay tile 
running full of water. 

First, let us consider the source of the water of the 
spring. Water, as it falls from the clouds, is taken up 
more or less readily by the soil. It filters down through 




Fig. 6. — Ruuiuug tile. 

silt, sand, gravel or whatever it may be until it reaches 
some layer which wiU allow it to flow downward no further. 
It then flows along this layer until on some lower ground 
it comes to the surface. Wlienever water issues from a 
natural opening, we call it a spring. 

There are milhons of acres of land throughout the 
United States from which water can not drain naturaUy. 



18 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

As we shall soon learn, this water must be removed before 
plants can make a healthy growth. 

Some artificial means, then, must be adopted to remove 
this free moisture. This is accomplished by the use of the 
tile drain. If all the tile drain which is now laid in the 
states of Iowa and Illinois alone were placed end to end, 
it would make a continuous line tens of thousands of miles 
in length. 

11. How Water enters Drain Tile. — Since the water 
escapes through these drains, the question at once arises, 
How does it get into the tile? Does it enter at the joints 
or through the walls of the tile ? 

Fit a cork firmly into a hole in the bottom of a flower 
pot. Fill the pot with water. Has any water escaped 
through the walls of the pot at the end of an hour ? Of a 
day? If little or no water can escape through the walls 
of pots, little or none can enter. Flower pots and drain 
tile are made of the same material. This means, then, 
does it not, that water enters at the joints of the 
tile. 

Lines of tile are laid not closer than a rod apart as a rule, 
and often they are two rods apart. How is all the water 
from this area of soil to escape through one small tile? 
Does it enter at the top, the sides, or the bottom when it 
finds its way through the joints into the drain? 

EXERCISE 6 

Object. — To see how and where water enters the tile 
drain. 

Procedure. — Fill a quart can with fine sand or sandy 
loam. Punch three holes in the can with a nail : one 
about three fourths of an inch from the bottom ; the 
second the same distance above the first and a little to the 



THE WATER IN THE SOIL 19 

right of it; the third about three quarters of an inch 
above the second and a Uttle to the right of it. Make a 
cup-shaped hole in the top of the soil and add water until 
it begins to flow from each of the holes in the side of the 

can. 

Conclusion. — From which hole did the water first 
begin to flow ? Let the lowest hole represent the bottom, 
the middle one the side, and the highest one the top of the 
tile. Does this not mean that the water must fill the soil 
from the bottom upward, then work its way laterally 
through the soil until it reaches the tile, entering the 
joints at the bottom? From here it flows out to the 
drainage ditch or natural outlet. Trace a given amount 
of water from a rain cloud through a tile-drained soil to 
the creek or river. 

12. Three Kinds of Water in the SoiL — We have just 
been studying how a certain amount of water escapes 
from the soil. This water, which moves through the 
soil and drains away, is known as free, or gravity, water. 
It is of no benefit to plants whatever. On the other hand, 
it is an absolute detriment to them. When this gravity 
water has drained away, there remains a tiny film about 
each soil particle, known as film, or capillary, water. This 
is the moisture, of which the plant makes use. There is, 
however, stiU another kind of moisture, known as hygro- 
scopic moisture. It is the water which may be driven off 
by heating the soil to a high temperature after it is thor- 
oughly air dried. It plays no part whatever in plant 
growth. 

EXERCISE 7 

Object. — To determine the percentage of each kind of 
water in a soil. 

Procedure. — Secure a tomato can or a tin can with a 



20 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



cover and remove the bottom with a can opener. Press 
lid into place and invert the can. Place first a piece of 
screen wire and then a piece of cheesecloth on the inside 
of the can next to the lid. Fill the can level full with any 
soil you may select from your air-dried and screened 
samples. Carefully weigh the can and soil. Add water 
until the whole soil mass is saturated and the water stands 
on the surface. Carefully weigh again. Remove the 
lid from the bottom of the can and allow the water to 
drain out for at least two days. Carefully weigh a third 
time. Spread the soil on a cloth or in a large shallow pan 
and allow it to dry in the open or near a stove for two or 
three days. Weigh a fourth time. 

By heating over a slow fire without burning, the 
amount of hygroscopic moisture present could be de- 
termined ; but since this is rather difficult, it is not 
required here. 

The moisture first lost was the gravity, or free water; 
that in the sunlight or near the stove, the film water ; 
that, which would be lost in the oven or in a pan over a 
slow fire, the hygroscopic. 

The following table will assist you in keeping your 
notes : 



Kind op 
Soil 



Weight 
OP Can 



Weight 
OF Can 

AND Soil 



Weight op 

Can, Soil 

AND Water 



Weight of 
Can and 

Soil after 
Draining 



Weight op 

Can and 

Soil after 

Drying 



THE WATER IN THE SOIL 21 

Conclusion. — Figure the percentage of gravity and 
film moisture in the soil. If others have worked with 
different kinds of soil, compare your results with theirs. 

13. How Film Moisture works its Way upward in the 
Soil. — The film moisture held in the soil tends to work 
its way upward toward the surface. This is called capil- 
lary action. We may know that water will rise a short 
distance in a very small glass tube when we thrust it into a 
pail of water. We know a lamp wick pulls up oil by the 
same process. The soil is full of these tiny tubes, which 
are not straight, to be sure, since they consist of irregular 
openings between the soil particles; and through them 
the moisture rises from the subsoil. Do these tubes 
vary in size in different soils ? 

EXERCISE 8 

Object. — To record the rate at which film moisture rises 
in different soils. 

Procedure. — Repeat Exercise 4, but set the lower end 
of the chimneys in pans of water instead of adding water at 
the top. Raise the lower end of the chimneys slightly from 
the bottom of the pan by thrusting a toothpick or splinter 
under one side. Otherwise the water may not enter freely. 

Conclusion. — Record the length of time it took the 
moisture to reach the surface of the soil in each cylinder 
or chimney. Tell why it rose quickly in some and slowly 

in others. - 

Since the moisture in the soil rises through these capil- 
lary tubes, as we have just shown, is it not important to 
keep them unbroken? 

EXERCISE 9 

Object. — To study the effect of breaking the capillary 
tubes in the soil by plowing under clods or heavy straw. 



22 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



To study the effect on the rise of water in the soil of 
discing stubble or trashy ground before plowing. 

Procedure. — Fasten cheesecloth firmly over the lower 
end of chimneys or glass cylinders as you did in Exercises 
4 and 8. Fill the first chimney full of fine, sifted soil. 
Fill the second one two thirds full of the same soil, then 
add a small handful of fine clods, then soil again until the 
chimney is full. Fill the third chimney exactly as you 




Fig. 7. — Farmer discing. 



Courtesy Iowa State College. 



filled the second, only substitute a half inch of fine straw 
for the clods. Fill a fourth chimney as you did the 
third, but instead of putting the straw in a layer, cut and 
mix it thoroughly with the soil in the upper part of the 
chimney. Note that while the straw in the third chimney 
is in a layer, just as it would be if we plowed stubble 
without discing, that in the fourth chimney is mixed with 
the soil just as it is when stubble is disced before plowing. 



THE WATER IN THE SOIL 23 

Place the lower ends of the chimneys or cylinders in 
pans of water, and watch the moisture rise in the soil. 

Conclusion. — Will it pay to disc stubble or trashy 
fields before plowing? Why? What is an ideal condi- 
tion of the soil for the freest rise of moisture through it? 

14. How the Farmer prevents the Escape of Film 
Moisture. — The roots of plants often feed very near the 
surface of the soil. These roots need the moisture that 
comes up by capillary action. The farmer wants there- 
fore to bring this water up to the roots, and yet not to let 
it escape into the air. He can do this by mulching with 
straw, but this may keep out the air, which we shall later 
learn is very important. Moreover, it would be out of 
the question for him to mulch all his fields in this way. 
A mulch, then, of soil, or a dust mulch, as it is called, is 
used. The following simple demonstration will show 
how a dust, or powder, will prevent the moisture from 
reaching the air : 

Place two lumps of sugar in a saucer containing a small 
amount of water colored with red ink. On the top of one 
of the lumps, place half a spoonful of powdered sugar, 
soda or starch. Notice how the colored water comes to 
the surface of the first lump and stops at the powdered 
material in the second. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name four ways by which water escapes from the soil. 

2. Which takes up water more rapidly, a sandy soil or a 
clay soil? 

3. Which takes up water more rapidly, a soil rich in humus or 
one lacking in humus ? 

4. Define the term spring. 

5. Explain what causes the water to issue from a spring. 

6. Explain fully how water enters a tile drain. 



24 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

7. What three kinds of water do we find in the soil ? 

8. How can you determine the amount of each kind of water 
in a sample of soil ? 

9. What is the effect upon the- rise of water in the soil of 
plowing under trash or clods? 

10. How may moisture be prevented from escaping from 
the surface of the soil? 



' CHAPTER III 

THE AIR IN THE SOIL 

Tillable land is made up of soil particles, each of which 
is inclosed in a film of moisture while the spaces between 
them are filled with air. A square rod of ordinary soil 
may contain from sixty to seventy-five cubic feet of air 
in the upper fourteen inches. 

15. Why Air is Necessary in the Soil. — Air, which 
consists chiefly of oxygen and nitrogen, plays a very 
important part both in soil-making and in plant growth. 
We have already learned that plants, decayed through 
the action of fungi and bacteria, help to form soil. These 
organisms, you will remember, break down the dead 
plants into simple compounds which the living roots can 
absorb again. (See Section 5.) 

The fungi and bacteria which cause decay can not live 
without oxygen, nor can the roots of plants live without 
it. Moreover, a germinating seed takes in oxygen and 
throws off carbon dioxide. In fact, as we shall later 
learn, it is impossible for any seed to germinate without 
oxygen. 

In addition to oxygen and nitrogen, air also contains 
carbon dioxide. This gas, which is given off by germinat- 
ing seeds and decaying vegetable matter, helps to dissolve 
the plant food in the soil. 

16. Why we seek to control the Air Space in the Soil. 

— Since the air in the soil is so essential to plant growth 

25 



26 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

and soil-making, it follows that any method we may em- 
ploy to get more air into the soil will ordinarily increase 
its fertility. In regions, however, where the rainfall is not 
sufficient to settle the soil well or to allow the decom- 
position of the organic matter, the amount of air in the 
soil may be too great. In this case, the upward move- 
ment of water, such as was shown in Exercise 8, will be 
interfered with, and not enough moisture will reach the 
roots or germinating seeds. The aim of the farmer in 
these dry regions is to increase the moisture-holding ca- 
pacity of the soils without making them so light that the 
movement of the air will dry them out. 

The amount of air a soil contains depends (1) upon the 
character of the soil, (2) upon the amount of organic 
matter it contains and (3) upon the amount of moisture 
present. 

EXERCISE 10 

Object. — To determine the amount of air space in the 
soil. 

Procedure. — Secure as many ordinary tin cans as you 
have samples of fertile and infertile, air-dried and sifted 
soils. Fill each can with a soil and tap lightly on the table 
to settle it. The space between the soil particles is now 
occupied by air. Add water slowly to each can, keeping 
a careful record of the amount. 

When the water has displaced all the air and stands at the 
surface of the soil, you will be able to determine the amount 
of air in the sample by the amount of water that has been 
required to displace it. 

Conclusion. — State which soils contain the greatest 
amount of air space. Does the amount of organic matter, 
or humus, make any difference in the amount of air the 
soil contains? Why is it that a soil needs air? 



THE AIR IN THE SOIL 



27 



EXERCISE 11 



Object. — To determine the influence of compacting the 
soil upon the amount of air space in it. 

Procedure. — Follow the instructiQns given in Exer- 
cise 10, only before adding the water thoroughly pack the 




Fig. 8. — Measuring the water before adding it to the soil. 



soils in the cans with a short piece of broomstick or the 
head of a small mallet. 

Co7iclusion. — Compare the amount of air space in the 
soil before packing, as determined in Exercise 10, with 
that after packing, as found in this exercise. In dry 
farming regions, where the soil is liable to be too loose and 
light, would it be advisable to roll or pack it ? 



28 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



17. How we may get More Air into the SoiL — From 
the western hmit of the Corn Belt to the Atlantic Ocean 
and in all the land subject to irrigation, there is need of 
plenty of air in the soil. This does not mean that large 
air spaces, such as are caused by clods or small piles of 
weeds or straw, are necessary ; it means rather that much 




Fig. 9. — Farmer plowing. 



of the air which finds its way into the small spaces in 
mellow, well-tilled land is needed. 

The amount of air in the soil is influenced first by cul- 
tivation or tillage; second, by manuring; third, by 
drainage; fourth, by rotation of crops. 

The plow turns up particles of soil which may have 
been shut off from a supply of air. Then, too, the bottom 
of the furrow is in direct contact with the air until it is 
covered on the next round. 



THE AIR IN THE SOIL 29 

Harrowing, discing and cultivating all help to increase 
the amount of air in the soil. Rolling and subsurface 
packing, on the other hand, diminish the amount of air in 
the soil. These latter operations are performed largely 
in the dry farming regions. 

How much more water did the soil containing humus 
take up than the same soil lacking humus in Exercise 10? 
Remember that it was there shown that the air space in a 
soil increases with the amount of humus, or organic matter, 
which it contains. By adding manure to the soil, we 
increase the amount of air in it. 

In Exercise 10, we expelled the air from the soil by add- 
ing water. When we remove water from the soil by tile 
drains, we allow air to take the place of the water. More- 
over, a generous supply of air enters these tiles and moves 
upward through the soil. 

Many plants, such as alfalfa and sweet clover, send 
their roots deep into the soil. When these crops are 
plowed up, the roots decay, allowing the air to fill the 
space which they had occupied. This is one of the bene- 
fits of crop rotation. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What are the uses of air in the soil? 

2. How many cubic feet of air may the upper fourteen inches 
of a square rod of soil contain ? 

3. What influence has plowing and discing upon the volume 
of air in the soil ? 

4. Why is it that farmers in the dry farming regions work 
to reduce the volume of air in their soils? 

5. What influence do clods have upon the soil air? 

6. Name two ways in which tile drains help to get air into 
the soil. 

7. What influence has manuring upon the amount of air 
in the soil? 

8. How does the rotation of crops influence soil air? 



CHAPTER IV 
THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SOIL 

18. Proper Temperature Necessary for Germination. 

— Throughout the winter months, the seeds and roots of 
plants in the earth Ue dormant. Plant food, moisture and 
air are present in the soil ; but the proper temperature is 
lacking. Seeds can not germinate, nor plants grow unless 
the soil absorbs enough of the heat of the sun to raise the 
temperature of the fields somewhat above freezing. Very 
few of the seeds or plants awaken from their winter's 
rest at a temperature near thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, 
the melting point of ice. Wheat will germinate and make 
some growth at forty-one degrees but it thrives best at 
eighty-three. Oats may germinate at thirty-eight ; their 
most vigorous growth, however, is made at seventy-seven 
degrees. The soil in a cornfield should register a tempera- 
ture of at least forty-nine degrees, while ninety-two degrees 
is the best, or optimum temperature for the germination 
of this seed. Cucumbers, muskmelons and squashes 
should not be planted until the oaks are fully in leaf, when 
the soil temperature is around eighty degrees. 

19. How Temperature of the Soil is governed. — 

Since a warm soil is so important a factor in the germina- 
tion of seeds and the development of roots, let us consider 
the laws that govern the temperature of the soil. These 
laws, or principles, may be summarized in three sentences : 
The temperature of the soil depends first upon the 
amount of air space in it. 

30 



THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SOIL 



31 



The temperature of a soil depends secondly upon the 
amount of moisture in it. 

The temperature of a soil depends thirdly upon its 
color. 

20. How the Air Space in a Soil affects its Tempera- 
ture. — The greater the amount of air space, the warmer 
the soil. Air is warmer than the earth in the spring. 
Therefore when either air or rain water, which is warmed 
in passing through the air, enters the soil in the spring, 
the temperature of the land is raised. 

We have already in Exercises 10 and 11 determined the 
amount of air space in certain soils. Let us now see what 
influence this has upon the temperature. We remember 
from Exercise 1 that while sand is made up of coarse 
particles, clay consists of particles so small and fine that 
it becomes pasty when wet. 

EXERCISE 12 

Object. — To determine how the size of particles, and 
consequently of the air space in a soil, influences its tem- 
perature. 

Procedure. — Fill two cans, one with clay, the other 
with sand. Plunge the bulb of a thermometer into each 
soil, about one inch below the surface. Moisten each 
soil and place the cans in the sunlight. Copy the follow- 
ing table into your notebook and complete it by recording 
the temperatures every hour. 



Soil 


9 A.M. 


10 a.m. 


11 A.M. 


12 A.M. 


1 P.M. 


2 P.M. 


Sand 
Clay 















3 P.M. 



32 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Conclusions. — Market gardeners always try to select 
a dark, sandy soil for their early vegetables. Give one 
reason why this kind of soil warms up earlier in the spring. 
Lime, added to a clay soil, tends to gather the fine parti- 
cles into small grains. Would you expect the tempera- 
ture of a clay soil to be somewhat higher after a dressing, 




Fig. 10. — Thermometers in the soil. 



or application of lime was added? In Exercise 10, the 
amount of air space was found to be greater in the soil 
containing humus from the old fence row than in that 
from the center of the road. Would you expect the tem- 
perature of the soil in the sun along the fence row to be 
higher than that in the center of the road ? Why ? If you 



THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SOIL 33 

have time, test with the thermometer to see if your answer 
is correct. Summarize your answers into a short story 
about the influence of air space upon the temperature of 
soils. 

21. How the Moisture in a Soil affects its Tempera- 
ture. — We all know that a wet, soggy soil, which is filled 
with free or gravity water, is much colder in the spring 
than is a well-drained soil, which contains only film mois- 
ture. Let us investigate this with our thermometers. 

EXERCISE 13 

Object. — To show the influence of the amount of mois- 
ture in a soil upon its temperature. 

Procedure. — Fill two cans from the same sample of 
soil ; that is, with soil from a fence row, from a cultivated 
field, or from a garden as you may choose. Add water to 
the first can until it stands at the surface of the soil. 
Add none to the second can. Plunge the bulb of a ther- 
mometer about an inch below the surface of each soil. 
Prepare a table as you did in the preceding exercise, but 
substituting the words " saturated soil " and " dry soil " 
for " sand " and " clay." Place the cans where both the 
sun and the wind will strike them. 

Conclusions. — Men often wrap a piece of a sack about 
a jug in the summer time to keep the water cool. The 
sack is usually kept moist so that water is evaporating 
from it all the time. Evaporation is a cooling process. 
In which soil did the thermometer read lower, that which 
was saturated, or the other one? Why? What is one 
of the great benefits of tile draining? Which soils will 
allow ready passage of water through them, those con- 
taining plenty, or little, of humus? Why? Sandy soils, 
or clay soils? Why? 

D 



34 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

22. How the Color of a Soil affects its Temperature. — 

It is a pieculiar fact that dark colored things absorb more 
of the sun's heat than do those which are hght colored. 
That this is true of soils is shown by the following experi- 
ment : 

EXERCISE 14 

Object. — To determine the influence of the color of a 
soil upon its temperature. 

Procedure. — Fill two cans to within an inch of the top 
with any soil you may choose. Fill the remainder of one 
can with some white powder, as slaked Ume or chalk dust, 
the other with coal dust or soot. Thrust the bulb of a 
thermometer into each can to a depth of about an inch. 
Record the temperatures one hour after the two cans have 
been placed in the sunlight. 

Conclusions. — White reflects Hght, black absorbs it ; 
and when Hght is absorbed, it is converted into heat. 
Is not a dark suit or dress warmer in the summer than a 
white one? Why? Should a light colored horse stand 
more heat in the summer time, other things being equal, 
than a black one ? Why ? If time permits, compare the 
temperatures of light and dark colored soils in the fields. 
Are the fields to which green or barnyard manure was 
added a year or two ago darker in color than those to 
which none was added? Are the fields which were in 
clover or pasture last year darker than those which have 
been continuously cultivated? 

Name four ways by which a farmer may make the soil 
of his fields warmer. 

23. The Advantages of a Warm Soil. — Seeds awaken, 
or germinate, much more readily in a warm soil than in a 
cold one. The growing plant also thrives better where 
the soil temperature is favorable. The bacteria and 



THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SOIL 35 

other organisms in the soil, which break down the dead 
plants, work much more rapidly at the higher tempera- 
tures. The soil is a storehouse of plant food. A certain 
amount of this must be unlocked each year to supply the 
plants. Plant food becomes available in a shorter time 
if the soil is warm. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why are plants dormant in the winter? 

2. At what temperature will corn germinate best? 

3. At what temperature will wheat germinate best? 

4. Upon what three things does the temperature of the soil 

depend? -i j 

5. Compare the temperatures of a sandy and a clay soil and 

give reasons for the difference. 

6. Why will adding lime to a clay soil raise the temper- 

7. Compare the temperature of an undrained field which is 
wet with that of a drained field and give reasons for the differ- 

ence. 

8. Why is a dark colored soil warmer than a light colored 

one ? 

9. How may a person change the color of his soil ? 
10. What benefits are derived from a warm soil ? 



CHAPTER V 
THE TILLAGE OF SOILS 

24. Why we till the Soil. — The question of tillage 
of soils is so interwoven with that of air in the soil, water 
in the soil, and the temperature of the soil that it is 
difficult for us to set it aside as a separate lesson. There 
are, however, some deep and fundamental objects of 
tillage which we should fix in mind. We till the soil : 

First : to improve its texture and structure. 

Second : to cover, or to work into the soil trash, straw, 
manure or plants by plowing or discing. 

Third : to put seed into the prepared seed bed. 

Fourth : to destroy weeds. 

Fifth : to prevent the escape of moisture from the soil by 
making a dust mulch. 

Sixth : to enable air and water to enter the soil. 

25. Improving the Texture and Structure of the Soil. — 
If we are to study how tilling the soil will change its texture 
and structure, we must know the meaning of these terms 
as applied to farm lands. The size of the individual 
particles in the soil determines its texture. The manner 
in which these particles/?^ together determines the structure. 

The question at once arises. How does tillage change 
the size of particles ? It can not, in itself, change the 
texture of the soil, for the particles are broken up by might- 
ier forces than the plow, or harrow, or disc. These opera- 
tions do, however, expose the soil particles so that the sun 
and the water, the heat and the cold, can break them into 
finer particles. 

36 



THE TILLAGE OF SOILS 37 

There are two ways in which the particles of soil may 
fit together, and hence two soil structures are commonly 
recognized : 

First : that in which the particles are stuck together in 
tiny masses, forming what is known as the crumb structure. 

Second : that in which the particles are run together 
in large masses, forming lumps, or clods. This is known 
as the puddled structure. 

The formation of lumps and clods ; i.e., the puddled 
structure, may be brought about in four ways : (1) by 
plowing the ground when it is too wet ; (2) by allowing 
animals to trample the fields when the soil is full of mois- 
ture ; (3) by leaving the fields too long in one crop ; and 
(4) by neglecting to add organic matter. 

EXERCISE 15 

Object. — To show the effect of freezing upon the 
structure of soils. 

Procedure. — Make four mud pies out of clay such as 
was obtained in Exercise 1. These pies should be about 
an inch and a half in diameter, one half inch thick, and 
contain enough water to prevent cracking when molded. 
Set one pie on a window sill or on a shelf to dry. It 
should not be allowed to freeze. Place the other three 
outside the schoolroom where they will freeze thoroughly. 
Bring them into the schoolroom after they have been frozen 
solid for a day or two, and thaw them out carefully. As 
soon as the frost is out of them, but while they are still 
wet, place one upon the window sill or shelf inside the 
schoolroom, and the other two outside to freeze thoroughly 
again. Bring the two frozen pies in again later; and 
when they have thawed out a second time, set a third 
one on the shelf, and put the last one out to freeze once 



38 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

more. Remember that this pie should not have been 
allowed at any time to lose its moisture. Bring it again 
into the schoolroom, thaw it out gradually, and put it 
on the shelf with the others. 

Conclusions. — Break and crumble each of the pies in 
your hand. Remember that one of them has not been 
frozen at all, another has been frozen once, the third, twice, 
and the fourth, three times. Record in your notebook 
which one crumbled most easily, which one next, etc. 
What did the freezing do to the particles of soil which 
had been stuck together by pressure of the fingers while 
wet? Have you not noticed how much more mellow a 
soil is in the spring than in the fall? What are some of 
the advantages of fall plowing ? 

EXERCISE 16 

Object. — To determine the effect upon structure of 
working organic matter into the soil. 

Procedure. — Make a mud pie out of clay as you did 
in the preceding exercise, only just moisten it instead of 
making it wet. Make a second one in the same way, but 
make it of one part sawdust, peat or powdered leaf mold, 
and two parts clay. Mix the ingredients dry before 
adding water. Make a third and fourth pie as you did 
the first two, but using sand instead of clay, then a fifth 
and sixth one, using silt in the same way. Put the pies 
in an oven, on the radiator or on the back of the stove to 
dry them out thoroughly. 

Conclusions. — Crumble each pie carefully in your 
hands. Which crumbles more readily, the clay alone, or 
the clay and organic matter? Did the addition of the 
organic matter have as much effect upon the silt as upon 
the clay? Did it not have least effect upon the sand? 
In which soil are the particles smallest? Would you say 



THE TILLAGE OF SOILS 



39 



then that clay soils need green and barnyard manures 
more than sandy ones as far as structure is concerned? 
Which of all these soils could be plowed first after a rain ? 




Fig. 11. — Adding organic matter to the soil. 

26. One Cause of Cloddy Fields. — The next experi- 
ment will bring out one of the common causes of the 
cloddy fields which often prove troublesome to farmers. 



EXERCISE 17 

Object. — To study the effect of stirring or tramping 
soils when wet. 

Procedure. — Make three groups of mud pies out of 
clay, silt and sand ; or use types of soils from the fields in 
which these materials predominate. Each group is to 
consist of one pie of clay, one of silt and one of sand. If 
the soil is brought from the field, it will probably be moist 
enough for the pies of the first group. If the soil is dry, 
add just enough water to moisten and put it in the con- 
dition of well tilled land. To each pie of the second 



40 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

group, add enough water to make the soil sticky. To the 
third group, add water until the whole is a saturated mass. 
In this case, the clay, the silt, and the sand, of which the 
different pies are 'made should be thoroughly Worked in 
your hands. Set the pies in the oven or on the back of 
the stove to bake. 

Conclusion. — After baking, crumble each pie care- 
fully in your hands, making note of how hard each one 
is to crush. Would you say that plowing or trampling a 
sandy soil would puddle it as much as it would a clay 
soil? Would it puddle a silt soil as readily as a clay 
soil? What effect would the addition of organic matter 
have on each of these soils? 

27. Covering, or Working into the Soil, Organic Matter. 

— As already stated, the second object of tillage is to 
cover or work into the soil any organic matter which may 
be on the surface. This may be accomplished by using 
the plow or disc. 

With the plow, a narrow strip of land is turned up, 
twisted over and laid bottom side up. Where there is 
any great amount of trash or straw on the ground, a roll- 
ing cutter, or coulter, as it is called, is used. This rolhng 
knife cuts through the trash so that it can not gather, and 
lift or clog the plow. 

If tall weeds, green manuring crops, or any other plants 
are plowed under, some means must be employed to 
draw them down to the bottom of the furrow, allowing 
the dirt to cover them completely. A chain or a bent 
rod is commonly used to draw the heavy plant growth 
under the overturning furrow slice. 

28. Putting Seed into the Seed Bed. — The operation 
of seeding will be studied again in connection with certain 



THE TILLAGE OF SOILS 



41 



crops. The work of seeding generally stirs or tills the 
soil to a considerable extent. A small furrow is usually 
opened by the drill shoe, or the planter blade ; and the 
dirt is filled in again over the seed by some shovel or 
wheel attachment behind. 




Fig. 12. — Farmer harrowino;. 



29. Destroying Weeds. — One of the primary objects 
of tillage is to destroy weeds. The tool which is used 
depends upon how deeply or thoroughly we wish to cul- 
tivate the soil, in addition to killing the weeds ; and it 



42 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

depends also upon the size of the weeds and the nature 
of their root system. Any plant is most easily destroyed 
when it is just breaking through the ground. The com- 
mon harrow is one of the best tools we have for destroying 
young weeds. 

As the weeds become a little older, the disc or cultiva- 
tor is used to destroy them. The disc is not used, however, 
on such plants as the quack grass. This weed is spread 
by long, underground stems, which run about beneath the 
surface at a depth of two or three inches. A disc only 
serves to cut these stems into pieces and scatter them 
through the fields, where each piece becomes a new plant. 
Such weeds are plowed up, exposing the roots to the sun 
without breaking them any more than necessary. 

30. Forming a Dust Mulch. — In Section 14, we ob- 
served how the moisture rises through the soil until it 
escapes into the air unless prevented by a dust mulch. 
Such a mulch may be formed and maintained with the 
harrow, the fine-toothed cultivator, or with the subsurface 
packer, which is extensively used in the dry farming regions. 

31. Making it Possible for Air and Water to enter the 
Soil. — Plants can not exist without air and water. The 
roots and germinating seeds, as well as the leaves and 
stems, must have air. Plants absorb no moisture through 
their leaves or stems ; the roots alone gather the water. 
We have already seen in Section 16 why the soil needs air. 
It must be put in condition to receive and hold this air 
and water. 

The plow stirs the soil, making it light and friable; 
the harrow breaks the lumps, making the earth even more 
mellow ; and the cultivator loosens the surface so that 
the rain will not run off and that the air may enter. 



THE TILLAGE OF SOILS 43 

QUESTIONS 

1. Give six reasons for tilling the soil. 

2. Define the terms texture and structure as applied to soils. 

3. What effect does freezing have upon the structure of 
soils ? 

4. Name two soil structures. 

5. Name two ways of bringing about the crumb structure. 

6. Name four causes of a puddled condition of the soil. 

7. How can you draw tall weeds or other plants under when 
you plow? 

8. What is the best implement to use to destroy weeds that 
are just sprouting? To destroy weeds an inch or two high? 
To destroy tall weeds? 

9. What is the use of a dust mulch, and how is it maintained ? 
10. How does cultivation help air and water to enter the soil ? 



CHAPTER VI 
THE ROUND OF PLANT LIFE 

Thus far our lessons have been about soil, for from the 
soil plants draw their moisture and all of their food except 
carbon. Plants can not exist without soil ; neither can 
soil exist without plants. The two are inseparable, and 
our lessons should lead naturally from one to the other. 

32. The Life Cycle of Plants. — The year is made up 
of seasons, one following the other. As spring passes 
imperceptibly into summer with nothing but an arbitrary 
division between, so one period in the life cycle of a plant 
passes imperceptibly into another. For convenience in 
our study, we have divided the life of a plant into seven 
periods, devoting to each period one chapter, or lesson. 
These are as follows : 

(1) The Seed : Its Selection and Distribution. 

(2) Seed Germination. 

(3) The Work of Roots. 

(4) The Work of Leaves. 

(5) The Work of Stems. 

(6) The Work of Flowers. 

(7) The Formation and Development of Seed. 

33. How the Parts of a Plant work together. — A seed 
is selected and stored away by man, or it is carried by the 
wind or in the fur of some passing animal. Thus it is 
planted in a well prepared seed bed or becomes covered in 

44 



THE ROUND OF PLANT LIFE 



45 



Nature's own way. As the warm days of spring come 
on : 

The seed absorbs moisture and takes in oxygen. The 
tiny plant within the seed begins to grow. It breaks the 
seed coat and puslies its way further downward into the 
soil and upward into the light. 

^' The roots search for food and 
moisture in the soil as though they 
had eyes." 

The leaves are held up to the sun- 
light; and by its help they manufac- 
ture the food that nourishes not only 
the plant itself, but man 
and beast as well. 

The stems develop 
for the sole purpose of 






Fig. 13. — Stages in the life of a bean. 



holding these leaves up to the light and conducting to 
them minerals and water from the soil. 

Lastly the flowers appear, not for beauty, not for 
fragrance, although we enjoy both. Flowers form seed. 

Not all the seeds produced by a single flower or by a 
single plant can develop on the same spot of ground. 
They must be scattered by Nature or by man, and in 
their new locations, they must begin just as the seed 
which produced them began. 



CHAPTER VII 
THE SEED: ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 

34. The Functions of the Seed.^ — ^ Every part of a plant 
has one or more duties to perform. The seed has three : 

First : to -protect the tiny plants embryo or germ within 
it. 

Second : to assist in the work of distribution; that is, 
to help to bring about its own removal from the parent 
plant that it may find a favorable place in which to 
germinate. 

Third : to nourish the young plant within it until the 
latter is able to gather and manufacture its own food. 

35. How the Embryo is protected. — Each seed has 
its characteristic seedcoat, or covering. Sometimes it is 
thick, shell-like and woody as in the case of the nuts ; 
sometimes it is thin, paper-like and almost waterproof 
as in the bean and corn ; again, the seedcoat may become 
covered with layers of fiber, or lint as in the cotton. No 
matter what the form and structure of a seedcoat may 
be, it protects the embryo plant within against the enemies 
outside. Among these enemies are moisture, heat, drouth, 
insects, molds, and animals. The chief of these is mois- 
ture. 

36. How Seeds are scattered by Nature. — Seedcoats 
not only protect the embryos within, but often assist the 
seeds in becoming scattered. It is of the greatest impor- 
tance to a plant family to have the seeds of each member 

46 



THE SEED : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 47 

scattered away from the parent. Nature has provided 
for this in many ways. The most important of these 
ways are : (1) wind ; (2) water ; (3) animals ; (4) explosive 
or creeping habit of the seed pod. 

Those seeds which are scattered by the wind have either 
a feathery growth attached, like the dandelion, which 
enables them to fly through the air, or they have a keel- 



^HH 




■ 


^^^^^ ' ^^fl^^^l 




■ 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 




^^^^^^^^^Kb 


JH^^^^^^H 




^^^^^^^^^^H 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 




^^^B|^ 


v^^^E<^^i6^9^^^^^^Ei 




^^^^H 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M 




^^^BP 


^BKf^^ ^'^^ , 




^^^^H 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M 




^^Hk^j 






^^^H| 








^^ ^ ^ 












F^ *^ 






^^^H 




r 




^^^n 


■'^^I^^^Bm 


^^^^^^^i^^^^pmwH 




RBS^^ 


^^^oSfl^H^H 




^^^^^^B 


^ W» jM 


P*^?^H^5 


;>^ 


MHHI 




^H| 


^^^^^^^Hkb-v , iL^j^Mt- 




\ 


i^UIUIRiS^^^ 




^^^^^^^B 


^^^^HHk^^^ ^^^^ 






*s^ 




^^^^H 






1 


^^^^^jH| 




1 



Fig. 14. — Seeds scattered by the wind. 

shaped attachment, which, acting like a ship's rudder, 
turns the seed about in the air. The seeds in this last 
group often whirl through the air as they fall from the 
parent plant. The soft maple and the basswood are 
excellent examples. Plants like the tumbling pigweed 
and the Russian thistle, when mature, break off easily 
from their roots and go bumping and tumbling along the 
ground before the wind, scattering their seeds as they go. 
Those seeds which are scattered by the water are usually 



48 



SOILS AND PLANT 'LIFE 



light enough to float. It is not easy for water to enter 
seeds of this class, but many of them will grow even after 
being water-soaked. > 

Those seeds that are scattered by animals may be 
divided into three groups : (1) those which cling by means 
of hooks or spines to the fur, hair or bodies of animals ; 
(2) those which have food stored within or around them. 




FiG. 15. — Seeds scattered by animals. Note the Cockleburs in the 

fur of the coUie. 



and which the birds and other animals carry some dis- 
tance and drop ; and (3) those which the animals eat 
and which pass uninjured through the digestive tract. 

Some seeds, as those of the squirting cucumber, are 
thrown some distance from the parent plant by the pod, 
itself, much as we snap a fresh cherry pit between our 
thumb and finger. When the pods of some other plants 
such as the yellow oxalis, become dry, they snap the seed 



THE SEED : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 49 

away, as we would a bean with a bent stick. Still other 
seeds,' such as those of the wild oat, actually work their 
way along the ground in a sort of creeping motion. 

37. How Seeds are scattered by Man. — Man has 

played an important part in scattering seeds from state 

to state and from one part of the world to another. Very 

few of our noxious weeds are natives of America, most of 

them having been introduced by 

man from foreign lands. The 

quack grass, the docks, the 

Canada thistle, Russian thistle, 

pigweed, foxtail and many others 

were not found in this country 

when the white man first began 

to settle here. Man scatters seeds 

of weeds (1) in commercial seeds, 
(2) from railway and trolley 
cars, (3) in wool and hay, (4) in 
manure, and (5) in the packing 
about goods and nursery stock. 

Many of the grains, grasses, 
trees and shrubs which grow 
in our fields and about our homes were first brought 
to us from foreign countries. Of the following plants, 
— corn, wheat, oats, red clover, alfalfa, timothy, blue grass, 
cotton, apples, peaches, pears and oranges, — corn alone 
originated on this continent. New varieties of seeds, 
as well as those which have long grown here, are being in- 
troduced each year from foreign countries. The annual 
shipment of seed from state to state is enormous. The 
shipper may fail to clean his seed properly. Commercial 
seeds, therefore, become the carriers of weed seeds. 

Almost every year, some new variety of plant sprmgs 

E 




Fig. 16. — Explosive seeds 
the squirting cucumber. 



50 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

up along our railroads. The seeds have dropped out of 
leaky grain cars, or have been pushed out with the bedding 
from stock cars. 

Certain seeds, particularly those with hooks and spines, 
become imbedded in the wool of sheep. When the wool 
is shipped, the seeds go along and often germinate in the 
waste piles at the mills. Hay, also, may act as a carrier 
of seeds, either good or bad. 

Stock is shipped from all parts of the country to our 
large markets. More and more, the Utter and manure 
from the stockyards are being shipped to the country to be 
scattered on the fields. Weed and other seeds often be- 
come scattered in this way. 

The roots of trees and shrubs must be packed in some 
moist substance when they are shipped from place to 
place. Chaff, straw, hay and moss are used. China, 
glassware and crockery are usually packed in the same 
materials to prevent breakage. In this packing are 
often found small quantities of seed. 

More weed seeds and seeds of foreign plants find their 
way to our farms in commercial seeds than in any other 
way. It is therefore of the greatest importance that we 
examine any seed intended for planting lest such seeds 
be mixed with seeds of weeds and other plants that we 
do not want. 

38. Making a Seed Collection. — We are at once 
confronted with the difficulty of knowing the different 
weed seeds. 

Prepare a collection of the seeds of our common weeds, 
which mature in the late summer and fall. 

A small bottle, or vial, may be used to hold each sample, 
and a case of heavy pasteboard or wood made to hold the 
entire collection. Each bottle should be number ed; and 



THE SEED : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 51 

on the inside of the cover of the case, a sheet of paper 
should be pasted on which should be written the number 
and name of each seed. The nature of the ground where 
each plant was found should also be written on this 
paper, the heading being as follows : 



Seed No. 


Name 


Where Found 


1 


Cocklebur 


Cultivated Field 



If neither you nor your teacher knows the name of any 
given plant, — and none of us knows the names of all of 
them — send both seed and plant to your agricultural 
college or university, asking what the plant is. Very 
shortl}^ you will receive a letter giving its name. 



:^ \ 


JpiB 


■ 


1 


■^^^^^^^^^B* ^ Tk-.'^W*- 'wVHMiiHUM 




!l^^!f9MHIHHH ^ ^ 'l^H 




i 


lis; 


1 


b 


m 



Fig. 17. — A collection of seeds. 



The method by which we determine the purity of a 
seed sample will be made a part of our study of clovers. 



52 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

39. How Nature selects Seeds. — Nature carries on a 
rigid seed selection. Tlie strong seed produces a strong 
plant which soon overshadows and crowds out its weaker 
competitors. The seeds which produce plants that are 
able to survive the heat and the cold, the drought or the 
flood, the insect or the disease, are the ones which come to 
make up the plant life of any locality. 

The farmer destroys the weeds and other enemies 
which retard the growth of the planted seed. The prob- 
lem of careful selection and storage of the seed, however, 
remains. 

40. How Man selects Seeds. — As in the selection 
of an animal, the selection of any seed should begin with 
the parent. We want to know that the parent plant is 
vigorous ; that it is of a desirable type ; that it is more 
productive than the average of its kind, bearing fruit or 
seed of high quahty; that it is able to withstand the 
ravages of insects, the attacks of diseases, and perhaps the 
extremes of a variable climate ; that its root system is 
strong enough to hold it erect in times of high winds ; and 
so we might name many other things that man considers 
in connection with the parent plant whose seeds he wishes 
to sow in his fields. 

In connection with any given species or variety of 
plant, there are usually particular characteristics to con- 
sider in addition to the general ones named above. More- 
over, it should be understood that just as any given char- 
acteristic may be regarded as highly desirable, so its 
opposite, which may be found growing in the same field 
or even beside it in the same hill or row, is just as highly 
undesirable. 

In the following exercise, you will select from the field 
stalks of corn which show desirable characteristics and at 



THE SEED : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 53 

the same time others which show the opposite, or undesir- 
able characteristics. 

EXERCISE 18 

Object. — To study types of corn stalks, from which 
seed ears may be chosen, and also types which are to be 
avoided. 

Procedure. — Select and bring to the school building 
from any field you may choose fourteen or more stalks of 
corn as directed below. Each of these stalks will show 
either a desirable or an undesirable characteristic. Those 
which are desirable appear first and in italics. Note 
carefully the reasons given as to why the one is considered 
desirable and the other undesirable. 

(1) A strong, sturdy stalk of medium height and tapering 
gradually to the top. 

(1) A slender, spindhng stalk with or without an ear. 
It has been found that the best ears are commonly 

borne on stalks of the first description. A really good 
ear is rarely found on a slender, spindling stalk, no matter 
how tall it may be. 

(2) A stalk with an ear at medium height from the ground. 

(2) A stalk with an ear borne either very low or very 
high. 

As a rule, the largest, best formed ears are not found 
near the ground, nor high up on the stalk. Moreover, 
both are hard to husk. Hence, seed ears are chosen from 
those plants whose ears are borne at a medium height. 

{3) A shank long eiiough to allow the ear to hang with 
the tip downward. 

(3) A shank so short that the ear is held with the tip 
pointing upward. 

If tip extends upward, rain may enter, water gather 
at the base of the ear, and molds or decay result. This is 



54 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

undesirable in the parent plant, and would likewise be 
undesirable in the offspring. 

(4) A shank of mediu77i size and strength. 

(4) A shank too large and strong ; or one that is small 
and weak ; or two stalks, each showing one of these faults. 

If the shank is too large, the cob is also large, and the 
proportion of corn to cob, i.e., the shelling percentage, is 
small. Also the ear will be held with tip upward, and it 
will be hard to break off when husking. On the other 
hand, if the shank is too small, the ear is liable to be broken 
off by the fall winds. 

(5) A stalk bearing an ear, whose husks are of medium 
thickness and do not fit too closely. 

(5) A stalk bearing an ear whose husks are too thick and 
fit too closely ; or one bearing an ear whose husks are too 
thin and loose ; or better yet, secure a specimen of each 
description. 

If the husks are thick and close, the ear will dry out 
slowly, maturing late ; also it will be hard to husk. If 
they are too thin and loose, the corn may be damaged 
by the elements or otherwise. 

(6) A stalk whose ear is well matured at the time when 
the first killing frosts of autumn are about due. 

(6) A stalk whose ear is wet, heavy and immature at this 
time. 

In most parts of the Corn Belt, early maturity is con- 
sidered highly desirable as it lessens the danger of having 
the crop injured when the fall frosts come. To this end, 
seed is often selected in the field before the first frosts have 
come in the fall. If well matured ears are chosen at that 
time for seed, the crop raised from this seed should like- 
wise mature early. In this way, the time required to 
mature the crop has been gradually reduced by northern 
growers with the result that corn is now raised successfully 



THE SEP]D : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 55 

far north of where it could have been grown even twenty- 
five years ago. 

(7) A stalk, hearing an ear whose tip is unexposed to the 
weather. 

(7) A stalk, the tip of whose ear is exposed to the 
weather. 

If the tip protrudes from among the husks, some kernels 
are invariably damaged by the elements, smut, insects, 
birds or otherwise. If such ears are used for seed, simi- 
larly damaged corn may be expected in the resulting crop. 

(8) A barren stalk; i.e., one bearing no ear. 

Barren stalks are found in every field. They occupy 
space and receive care and attention without yielding 
any return. Since they bear no ears, many people sup- 
pose that they can not reproduce themselves. This is only 
half true. The pollen from their tassels, which are really 
the male flowers, falls upon the silks of near-by stalks, 
fertilizing the kernels, which are a part of the female flowers. 
Thus ears are formed containing the " blood " of the barren 
plant; and if kernels from these ears are later used for 
seed, they will have a tendency to produce barren plants. 
Therefore in selecting seed ears in the field, the careful 
grower rejects those found near a barren stalk. 

(9) A stalk from whose base a sucker has grown. 
A sucker is a stem, which branches from the main 

stem of the plant near or below the surface of the ground. 
It usually draws its nourishment from the plant which 
bears it. As a rule, it bears no ear, or a mere nubbin, 
while by draining the plant of nourishment, it weakens 
the latter, reducing its productive power. Hence stalks 
bearing suckers are considered undesirable. Many of the 
best growers will not select a seed ear from such a plant ; 
nor will they choose an ear from any plant standing near 
it, upon which its pollen might have fallen. 



56 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Conclusion. — It is clearly evident from our study of 
parent plants that no two plants are exactly alike. The 
fact that they do vary slightly or radically enables a person 
to select specimens which approach the ideal. 

By the selection of seed, the sugar content of sugar 
beets has been raised from twelve to more than eighteen 
per cent. 

By the selection of seed in America, the length of the 
lint on Egyptian cotton has been almost doubled within 
three years. 

By selection of seed, the average number of rows on 
an ear of corn has been raised from about thirteen to 
twenty. 

Moreover, by seed selection, the Corn Belt has been 
pushed northward almost to the Canadian line, notwith- 
standing the original home of the corn plant was in south- 
ern Mexico. 

Plants are improved and new varieties originated by 
crossing one blossom with another. This is a delicate 
and uncertain piece of work and requires the knowledge of 
a specialist. Seed selection, on the other hand, is some- 
thing that each one of us can do. 

In the foregoing exercise have been given twelve 
characteristics of the corn plant, which are undesirable 
and which we should seek to avoid. Go over them care- 
fully and state which ones could be avoided with certainty 
by the farmer who selected his seed from the wagon or 
crib in November. 

41. Selecting Specimens for Corn Judging. — The com- 
parison and judging of ears of corn will be left for our 
lesson on that crop. Of course it is not enough that an 
ear be borne on the right kind of stalk. It is necessary 
that the ear, itself, and the kernels as well, possess certain 



THE SEED : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 57 

characteristics which are held to be desirable. If you 
think you are able to recognize good corn when you see it, 
you may select now and store away for your judging later 
in the year at least twenty good ears. 
Bear in mind that a good ear of corn, — 

(1) Should be perfectly sound and mature so that seed 
from it is practically certain to grow. 

(2) Is nearly cylindrical in shape, or very slightly taper- 
ing, but rather " full " in the middle. 

(3) Has a butt well rounded, with kernels not too 
square or blocky, and fitting closely around the shank. 

(4) Has a tip well covered with kernels. 

(5) Has straight rows free from depressions. 

(6) Has kernels of uniform size and of keystone shape. 

42. Nature stores no Seeds but provides for Loss. — 
Nature has no granaries in which to store her supply of 
seeds for another season's crop. As we have seen, the 
seeds are scattered far and wide. Those which escape 
being devoured by the birds and other animals must pass 
the winter in whatever place they chance to fall. Thus 
exposed, many of them can not survive the extreme cold 
of winter or the sudden changes of spring. The loss is 
enormous, but Nature has provided for it by producing 
an enormous quantity of seed. A single pigweed may 
produce as many as fifty thousand seeds, while one Russian 
thistle has been known to produce two hundred and fifty 
thousand. One bushel of corn will plant about seven 
acres, which in a good year should produce four hundred 
bushels. This four hundred bushels in turn, you see, 
would plant two thousand eight hundred acres. Thus 
Nature's habit of producing more seed than would be 
needed for planting if properly stored, enables man and 



58 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

beast to live. The granaries and elevators overflowing 
with oats and barley, the train loads of corn and wheat, 
are Nature's surplus. 

43. Man's Storage of Seed. — If the tiller of the soil 
is to feed his animals, his own family and the great mass 
of people who do not produce their own food, he 
must carefully store that seed which he is to use for 
planting. 

Just how the seed should be made ready and stored 
that its vitality may be preserved most effectually has 
doubtless troubled the minds of men since they first be- 
gan to cultivate the wild plants of the forest and prairie. 
The principles of seed storage are by no means well un- 
derstood even yet, though in recent years we have gained 
much knowledge along this line. 

In February of 1900, Mr. J. W. T. Duvel determined 
to find out what influence the climate and duration of 
storage under different conditions had upon the vitality 
of seed. He selected apparently strong seed of the 1899 
harvest, tested samples for vitality, placed clean, fresh 
seed in manila paper seed envelopes, and sent two or more 
packages of each kind to the following places : 

Mobile, Alabama. Lake City, Florida. 

San Juan, Porto Rico. Durham, New Hampshire. 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Auburn,* Alabama. 

Wagoner, Oklahoma. Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

The seeds arrived at each place about the middle of 
February and were stored in an ordinary store room or 
attic, which had little or no heat. Each sample contained 
from one hundred to two hundred seeds. The following 
kinds were sent : sweet corn, onion, cabbage, radish. 



THE SEED : ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 59 

carrot, pea, bean, pansy, phlox, tomato, watermelon 
and lettuce. 

At the end of a little more than one hundred days, one 
sample of each kind of seed was returned and tested for 
vitaUty. Out of one hundred strong seeds of sweet corn 
stored at Ann Arbor, Michigan, all germinated, while 
only eighty out of one hundred stored at Mobile, Alabama, 
germinated. A sample of weaker sweet corn showed only 
48 per cent germination when stored at Mobile, and 92 per 
cent at Ann Arbor. The average germination of all seeds 
at the end of this period ranged from 53.59 per cent at 
Mobile to 86.23 per cent at Ann Arbor. 

At the end of about two hundred and fifty days, a second 
sample of each kind of seed was returned from each place 
and tested. The sample of one hundred strong sweet 
corn seed from Ann Arbor all germinated except two seeds 
while only twenty seeds of the sample stored at Mobile 
did so. The weaker sample of sweet corn showed a ger- 
mination of twelve per cent at Mobile and of 80 per cent 
at Ann Arbor. By comparing this with the first test, we 
see that strong seeds are less injured by an unfavorable 
climate than are weak ones. 

The onion seed had lost all of its vitahty at Mobile at 
the close of the second test, while at Ann Arbor, ninety- 
seven out of every hundred seeds were capable of germina- 
tion. The average germination of all seeds at the second 
test ranged from 24.31 per cent for those stored at Mobile 
to 84.58 per cent for those stored at Ann Arbor. The 
average annual rainfall at Mobile is 91.18 inches, while at 
Ann Arbor it is 28.58 inches. Do you see the connection 
between moisture and the vitahty of stored seed? 

The table (p. 60), which is taken from a bulletin of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, gives other 
results of this interesting test. 



60 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 





% 
Alive 


Alive 


Alive 
when 


% 
Alive 


Alive 

WHEN 


Alive 

WHEN 


Alive 


.'^^ 


Kind of 


WHEN 

Stored 


WHEN 

Stored 


Stored 

AT 


when 
Stored 


Stored 

AT 


Stored 

AT 


when 
Stored 


Alive 
when 


Seed 


AT 

Mobile 

262 

Days 


AT 

Baton 

Rouge 

La. 247 

Days 


Dur- 
ham 
N. H. 
251 
Days 


AT Au- 
burn 
Ala. 
275 
Days 


Lake 
City 
Fla. 
234 
Days 


Wag- 
oner 
I. T. 
238 
Days 


AT San 

Juan, 

P. R. 

129 

Days 


Stored 

AT Ann 

Arbor, 

Mich. 


Sweet corn 


















(strong) 


20.0 


88.0 


96.0 


88.0 


92.0 


90.0 


92.0 


98.0 


Sweet corn 


















(weak) 


12.0 


54.2 


82.0 


62.0 


77.0 


78.0 


78.0 


80.0 


Onion 


0.0 


0.5 


0.0 


12.0 


16.5 


24.5 


50.0 


97.5 


Cabbage 


17.0 


22.5 


12.0 


61.5 


63.5 


70.5 


76.5 


91.0 


Radish . 


51.0 


55.5 


59.5 


63.0 


58.5 


60.5 


62.0 


77.5 


Carrot . . 


8.5 


25.0 


2.0 


36.0 


43.5 


49.0 


48.5 


86.0 


Pea . . . 


44.0 


80.0 


94.0 


97.5 


86.5 


80.0 


98.0 


98.0 


Bean 


0.0 


60.0 


78.0 


56.0 


84.0 


82.0 


96.0 


100.0 


Pansy 


0.0- 


0.0 


0.0 


2.0 


1.5 


7.5 


6.5 


46.5 


Phlox drum- 


















mondii 


0.0 


0.0 


0.5 


1.0 


2.5 


5.5 


11.5 


40.0 


Tomato 


79.5 


96.0 


87.0 


94.0 


94.0 


94.0 


96.5 


98.0 


Watermelon 


64.0 


92.0 


82.0 


86.0 


92.0 


94.0 


88.0 


96.0 


Lettuce 


20.0 


84.5 


88.5 


86.0 


85.0 


82.0 


83.5 


92.5 


Averages of 


















all seeds 


24.31 


50.86 


52.42 


57.34 


61.27 


62.11 


68.21 


84.58 



Mr. Duvel summarized his careful work in twenty- 
seven statements. Six of these are as follows, important 
words being here put in italics : 

'' A seed is a living organism, and must be dealt with as 
such if good results are expected when put under favorable 
conditions for germination." 

'' The first factors determining the vitality of a seed are 
maturity, weather conditions at the time of harvesting, and 
methods of harvesting and curing.''^ 

'^ Seed harvested in damp, rainy weather is much weaker 
in vitality than seed harvested under more favorable 
conditions. Likewise, seed once injured will never regain 
its full vigor." 



THE SEED: ITS SELECTION AND DISTRIBUTION 61 

" Experiments have shown that moisture is the chief 
factor in determining the longevity of seeds as they are 
commercially handled. Seeds stored in dry climates 
retain their vitality much better than those stored in 
places having a humid atmosphere." 

" Seeds that are to be sent to countries having moist 
climates should be put up in air-tight packages. Experi- 
ments have shown that by the judicious use of bottles 
and paraffined packages, seeds can be preserved practically 
as well in one climate as in another." 

^' The life of a seed is undoubtedly dependent on many 
factors, but the 07ie important factor governing the longev- 
ity of good seed is dryness J' 

The application of these principles of seed storage will 
be considered under our lessons on the different crops. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What are the functions of seeds? 

2. Name four ways by which Nature scatters seeds. How 
can you tell by looking at any given seeds how they will be 
scattered ? 

3. Name four ways by which man thoughtlessly scatters 
seeds. 

4. Name four common weeds of the cultivated fields ; four 
of the meadows ; four of the lawns. 

5. How does Nature carry on seed selections? 

6. Why should seeds of cultivated plants be selected as 
far as possible in the fields? 

7. How does Nature store her seeds ? How does she provide 
for loss ? 

8. How do seeds stored in a moist place or climate compare 
in germination with those stored where it is dry ? 

9. What is the greatest enemy of stored seeds? 

10, Name the three factors which at first — that is, at 
harvest time — determine the vitality of the seed. 



CHAPTER VIII 
SEED GERMINATION 

44. What a Seed is. — A seed is a very small, or embryo 
plant, the germ, having food stored in or around it, by 
which it is nourished until it is able to maintain an inde- 
pendent growth. Both the germ and the stored food are 
covered and protected by a seedcoat, into which they are 
very tightly packed. 

45. Two Great Classes of Plants. — The little plant 
within the seed, called the embryo, or germ, consists of 
three parts; viz., the leaf or leaves, which are called the 
seed leaves, or cotyledons; the hypocotyl, or the part of the 
tiny plant below the cotyledons, the lower end of which 
is called the radicle ; and the plumule, or the part above 
the cotyledons. 

Those plants which bear inclosed seeds, — and this 
includes practically all common plants except evergreen 
trees — are divided into two great classes. This classifi- 
cation is based upon the number of seed leaves, or cotyle- 
dons, in the embryo. If only one cotyledon is present, 
the plant is known as a monocotyledon ; if two are present, 
it is a dicotyledon. These two great classes of plants 
differ not only in their embryos, but still more widely in 
their stems and leaves, so that we are easily able to dis- 
tinguish them at any stage of their existence. These 
differences will be shown in later chapters. 

The monocotyledons include the plants of the grass 

62 



SEED GERMINATION 



63 





family, and hence all of our cereal crops, as corn, wheat, 
rice, oats, barley and rye, for they are all grasses. 

The dicotyledons include the clovers, beans, peas, 
cotton, the common vegetables, and broad-leaved plants 
generally. 

When we ex- 
amine the seed of 
either of these two 
classes of plants, 
we are usually 
easily able to 
distinguish the 
parts. We find 
the embryo, or 
germ, in the mono- 
cotyledons at the 
base of the seed, 
as in the case of 
corn, and having 
but one cotyledon, 
while the stored 
food occupies a 
large space outside 

the embryo and pj^ ^g — C^rn and bean showing parts; the 

is called the endo- embryo of each removed. 

SVerm. In the a, cotyledons ; 6, plumules; c, hypocotyl, the 

, ,. ,1 V lower end of which is called the radicle; d, 

seeds of the dl- endosperm. 

cotyledons, there , 

is no endosperm, or food, stored on the outside of the 
embryo. The food is contained in the cotyledons in- 
stead, which accounts for their large size. They occupy 
the entire space within the seedcoat, or hull, except 
that taken up by the little plumule and hypocotyl. 
Study carefully Figure 18, noting particularly the plumule 




64 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

and hypocotyl in each seed and where the food is stored 
in each one. 

EXERCISE 19 

Object. — To study the parts of the seeds of the two 
great classes of plants. 

Procedure. — Soak a few beans and grains of corn for 
an hour or more. Shave away the entire face of one of 
the grains of corn on the germ side with a sharp knife. 
When the plumule and hypocotyl are plainly visible, set 
the kernel up where you can see it easily and make a careful 
drawing. 

Open the halves of a bean, being careful not to break the 
plumule and hypocotyl, which lie near the spot where the 
bean was attached to the pod. Make a drawing of one 
half of the bean, showing the parts in place. 

Label all parts in both drawings. 

Conclusions. — State fully in what respects the two 
embryos are alike and in what respects they differ. Do 
not fail to explain clearly where the food that is provided 
for the little plant after germination is stored in each seed. 

46. The Conditions required for Seed Germination. — 
When the right conditions surround a living, mature seed, 
the embryo awakens, sprouts or, as we say, it germinates. 
We are at once interested to know what these right condi- 
tions are and how far it is within the power of the farmer 
to provide them. Let us state and then prove that before 
a living seed will germinate, it must have (1) oxygen, 
(2) a proper amount of moisture, and (3) a proper tempera- 
ture. 

EXERCISE 20 

Object. — To prove that a seed must have oxygen in 
order to germinate. 

Procedure. — Fill a jelly glass or a pint fruit jar half 



SEED GERMINATION 



65 




full of fresh water. Fill another with water which has 
been boiled for several minutes to drive out the oxygen. 
As soon as the boiled water has reached about the same 
temperature as the other, drop a few seeds of rough rice 
— i.e., rice as it comes from the fields, having the hulls 
still on it — into each jar. Pour a few drops of machine 
or other oil on the surface of the boiled water, to prevent 
any oxygen from entering the water in this jar. Set the 
two jars aside in a 
warm place for a week ^.> ^ j, ^,m., 
or more ; then observe 
which seeds have made 
the better growth. 

Conclusions.- — 
Write briefly in your 
own words what has 
taken place in each 
jar. Why do you 
think the seeds in one 
jar have made a better 
growth than those in 
the other? 

Fig. 19. 

When we speak of 
oxygen, we must think 

of the air, for oxygen is a part of the air. (See Section 15.) 
Review Exercises 10 and 11. Tell four ways by which 
a farmer may make it possible for a generous supply of 
oxygen to reach the planted seed. (See Section 17.) 

47. Moisture and Germination. — There are a few 
kinds of seed, which, like that of the rice, will germinate 
under water ; a few will germinate in the desert countries 
with very little water; the majority of seeds, however, 
germinate and make their best growth with a moderate 





Rice in boiled and unboiled 
water. 



66 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

amount of moisture. All seeds require some moisture 
before they will germinate. 

EXERCISE 21 

Object. — To show that seeds require moisture for 
germination. 

Procedure. — Fill a narrow bread pan two thirds 
full of water. Secure a piece of window glass at least 
a third longer than the pan, but so narrow that one 
end of it will drop into the pan while the other extends out 
beyond. Cut a piece of blotting paper the same size and 
lay it upon the glass. 

Moisten the following seeds slightly to make them stick 
to the blotter; then lay them in rows lengthwise upon 
it: 

A row of rough rice. 

A row of alfalfa seeds. 

A row of Teparie beans. ^ 

A row of wheat. 

^ These little Teparie beans have a unique and interesting 
history. They now form an important article of diet for many 
of the Indians of Arizona and adjacent states where the rainfall 
is only about nine inches per year. "Throughout a one thousand 
mile circle of semi-arid and subtropical country are found the 
scattered relics of prehistoric agricultural tribes. The ruins of 
their houses and their ditches, their pottery, their implements of 
stone, and sometimes their bones remain to us. But of greater 
value and interest than any of these are the descendants of these 
tribes, and some of the ancient crop plants which yet endure." 
Teparie beans have come down to us from these ancient tribes. 
The seed will germinate in a surprisingly short time ; and the 
plants will endure severe drouth and set seed in the hottest and 
driest weather. They may lose every leaf ; but with a passing 
shower, they put forth leaves again and continue growth. They 
are sure to occupy an important place in the agricultural develop- 
ment of the semi-arid Southwest. 



SEED GERMINATION 



67 



Put one end of the glass with the blotter and rows of 
seeds in place into one end of the pan and let it sink be- 
neath the water, while the other end extends out beyond 
the other end of the pan. If any of the seeds float off 
when you place the end of the glass in water, put them 
back into place with your fingers. One end of each row 
will now be under water while the other end will be out 
in the air. Keep the water at the same height in the pan 
each day. A few drops of formalin in the water will help 
to keep molds from destroying your seeds. 

Conclusions. — Copy the following table into your note- 
book, and fill it out by taking notes the first, the second, 
and the third days, and after this every third day for two 
or more weeks, or until you are able to fill in the second 
column with certainty for all the seeds : 



Kind of Seed 


Date Embryo 
Broke the Seed- 
coat 


Distance from 

Water where 

Plant made 

Strongest 

Growth 


Kind of Climate 

where Plant 

IS Grown 


Rice .... 

Alfalfa . . . 
Teparie beans 
Wheat . . . 









Review Exercises 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9, and tell again clearly 
how drainage, manuring, surface cultivation and rotation 
of crops will help to get the proper amount of moisture 
to the planted seed. 



48. Temperature and Germination. — It has been 
rather easy for us to show that a seed must have oxygen 
and moisture before it will germinate. It is not so easy 
to prove at just what temperature a seed germinates best 



68 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



and makes its best growth. We can not control the tem- 
perature during our experiments as we did the other two 
factors, oxygen and moisture. The figures which were 
given in Section 18 were secured by using germinating 
boxes, in which the temperature was controlled as we 
control it in an incubator. 

We all know in a general way about what time of year 
it is best to plant the different seeds. Secure the help of 
any experienced person in your neighborhood and arrange 
in your notebook a table similar to the following, using 
as many different kinds of seed as you like : 



Kind op Seed 



Sweet peas . 
Corn . . . 
Muskmelon . 



Date of Earliest 
Planting with 
Estimate op 
Average Tempera- 
ture 



Mar. 10 40 F. 
Apr. 15 55 F. 
May 10 65 F. 



Date of Latest 
Planting with 
Estimate of 
Average Tempera- 
ture 



May 1 63 F. 
June 1 75 F. 
June 20 80 F. 



Date of Plant- 
ing FOR Best 
Results with 
Estimate op 

Average 
Temperature 



April 1 50 F. 
May 10 65 F. 
June 1 75 F. 



Review Chapter IV, and state clearly all the plans, or 
methods, you know, by which a farmer might cause the 
temperature of his fields to be higher in the spring than 
that of adjoining farms. 



49. Changes which take place within the Germinat- 
ing Seed. — We have already learned that " sl seed is a 
living organism." (Section 43.) This being the case, 
we should expect it to take in oxygen, burn up, or oxidize, 
the stored food within it, and throw off carbon dioxide. 
We know that we take oxygen into our lungs ; that this 
oxygen is used to burn up, or oxidize, the food after it has 
reached the blood ; and that carbon dioxide is thrown off. 



SEED GERMINATION 69 

We have already proved in Exercise 20 that germinating 
seeds take in oxygen. Now what do they give off in 
exchange for this? 

EXERCISE 22 

Object.— To prove that a germinating seed 
gives off carbon dioxide. 

Procedure. — Secure a piece of fresh unslaked, 
or unslacked, lime about a third as large as an 
egg, and slake, or slack it by putting it into a 
quart jar or can of water. Allow it to stand 
for two or three hours, and pour the 
Uquid into a clean bottle through a 
piece of filter paper; or if the liquid 
is perfectly clear, it is unnecessary to 
filter it. You now have 
clear limewater, which 
should be tightly 
corked if not used 
at once, as it reacts 
with the carbon di- 

nviHp nf thp air ^^«- 20. — Seeds germinating at differ- 

OXme 01 Xne air. ^^^ temperatures. C has germinated at 

Place a small the optimum temperature, B and A at 

amount of this water '^° ^^^ ^0° C, respectively, below optimum.- 

in a second bottle and blow into it through a small paper 
or glass tube. As the bubbles pass through it, the lime- 
water will turn milky, due to the fact that the carbon 
dioxide from your lungs unites with the lime dissolved 
in the water, forming innumerable, minute pieces of hme- 
stone, which will not dissolve in the water but which will 
finally settle.^ This is the test for carbon dioxide. It 
will turn limewater milky, and no other gas will do so. 

1 Limewater contains slaked lime. This consists of calcium 
oxide, CaO, combined chemically with water, H2O. When 




70 



SOILS AND PLANT LIP^E 



Now place a handful of wheat, oats, or other seed in a 
wide-mouthed fruit jar. Moisten them enough to cause 
them to germinate.. Carefully set a small open bottle of 
clear limewater in the jar with the germinating seeds. 
Fasten the lid of the fruit jar on securely. Keep a close 




FiG. 21. — The clear limewater becomes milky. 



watch from day to day. See the milky film form at the 
surface of the limewater. Finally, the limestone may form 
a thin crust like ice over the surface, or it may settle, 

carbon dioxide, CO2, is passed into limewater, it displaces the 
water which is combined with the calcium oxide and unites with 
this calcium oxide, itself. We then have CaO and CO2 combined, 
and these form CaCOs, or limestone. 

CaO + CO2 = CaCOs 



SEED GERMINATION 71 

forming a thin, white coating on the sides and bottom of 
the bottle. 

Conclusions. — Would the limewater turn milky if no 
carbon dioxide came in contact with it ? Where must the 
carbon dioxide in the fruit jar come from? Could any 
carbon dioxide come off from the seeds in the jar in Exer- 
cise 20, which contained the boiled water covered with oil? 
Why not? Thinking back over Exercises 10 and 11 and 
Sections 17 and 49, state (1) what it is that the seed takes 
from the air ; (2) what becomes of this substance that the 
seed takes from the air ; (3) what the seed gives up to the 
air; (4) and four ways of shutting air away from the 
planted seed. When wood is burning, the carbon which 
it contains is uniting with oxygen. Why can we not start 
the fire if the dampers are tightly shut in the stove? 

50. Heat generated during Germination. — Whenever 
carbon and oxygen unite, forming carbon dioxide, heat 
is generated. In this manner, heat is produced in our 
bodies when the material containing carbon in the blood 
unites with the oxygen from the lungs, forming carbon 
dioxide. So heat is generated when fuel containing carbon 
in the stove unites with oxygen, forming carbon dioxide. 
This being true, should we not expect heat to be produced 
when the stored food, which contains carbon, in the ger- 
minating seed unites with oxygen, forming carbon dioxide ? 
Let us prove that this is the case. 

EXERCISE 23 

Object. — To show that germinating seeds give off 
heat. 

Procedure. — Boil a large handful of wheat, beans, or 
other seeds for several minutes to kill the embryos. When 
the seeds are cool, place them in a medium-sized bottle. 



72 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Place an equal amount of fresh seeds in a second bottle 
and moisten them slightly to encourage germination. 
Insert a thermometer into each bottle so that the bulb 
rests among the seeds. The stem should extend out of 
the neck of the bottle far enough to be read without dis- 
turbing bottle or seed. Plug the neck of each bottle 
firmly with cotton to prevent the escape of heat. A woolen 




Fig. 22. — Germinating seeds give off heat. 



cloth, wrapped carefully about each bottle, will serve to 
keep the heat within the bottle and about the bulb of the 
thermometer. Record the temperature in each bottle 
every day during germination. All seeds used in this 
exercise should h? first immersed for two hours in a solu- 
tion consisting of one part of 40% formalin in 320 parts of 
water. This will destroy the spores of molds. 



SEED GERMINATION 73 

Conclusion. — Explain briefly why one thermometer 
should have shown a higher temperature than the other. 
If more than one kind of seed is used, tell why large seeds, 
such as peas or beans, should develop higher temperatures 
than smaller seeds, such as oats or barley. Why is it that 
if grain becomes wet in the bin while the weather is warm, 
it will heat? Name, now, two things which a seed takes 
in and two which it gives off during germination. 

51. How Size of Seed affects Growth of Young Plant. 

— Now that we have found that germinating seeds give 
off heat, let us take up the question of how the amount 
of food stored in the seed affects the amount of heat or 
energy generated. In other words, since the reserve food 
in the seed is to feed the embryo, how does the amount 
stored there influence the strength and vigor of the young 
plant ? 

EXERCISE 24 

Object. — To show the use of the reserve food, and 
how the amount present influences the growth of the 
young plant. 

Procedure. — Carefully cut away the endosperm from 
four grains of corn, taking care not to injure the embryo.^ 
The cutting is more easily done when the grains have been 
soaked in water for a couple of hours. Plant these in a 
row in a cigar box of sand ; and in another row, plant 
four whole grains of corn. 

Plant two rows of beans without injuring the seeds in 
any way. When they have pushed their seed leaves, or 

1 It is a singular fact that mutilation of a seed hastens ger- 
mination. Even if the embryo is not injured in any way, this 
operation causes it to germinate quickly and grow rapidly. 
The effect of the loss of the endosperm is seen later as it weakens 
from lack of food. 



74 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



cotyledons, out of the ground, carefully cut them away 
from all the plants in one of the rows, so that these plants 
can draw no more food from their cotyledons. 

Keep all the plants properly watered, and measure the 

height every other day. Ar- 
range your record in the form 
of a table. 

Conclusions. — How did the 
loss of the endosperm, or re- 
serve food, affect the amount 
of growth that the young 
corn plants were able to make ? 
How did the loss of the cotyle- 
dons, or reserve food, affect 
the growth of the beans ? Com- 
pare the little plant, robbed 
of its supply of food, with a 
young animal which is poorly 
fed. A fanning mill removes 
the light small seeds from the 
grain which we expect to sow. 
Why does wheat which has 
been run through a fanning 
mill produce a stronger, more 
vigorous growth of young 
plants than wheat which has 
not been so treated? Why do we usually remove the 
kernels from the tip of a seed ear of corn ? 




Fig. 23. — Effect of robbing 
the plant of its stored food. 
The cotyledons have been re- 
moved from the seed of the 
smaller plant. 



52. Direction of Growth. — A seed uses its reserve food 
as the embryo develops into a larger plant. The plumule 
always grows upward toward the light and the developing 
root always grows toward the earth. Why this is true 
remains a mystery. The effort, which either of these 



SEED GERMINATION 



75 



parts of a plant will make to grow in the right direction, 
may be interestingly shown in the following manner : 

Fill a cigar box with moist chaff or moss, and lay two 
grains of corn, germ side up, upon this material. A piece 
of window glass should now be fastened over the chaff 
and seed, and the box set on edge so the tips of the grains 
point downward. Moisten and allow them to germinate. 




Fig. 24. — Seedling plants trying to grow upward. The box has been 
turned over and the sprouts have changed their direction of growth. 

When the root and stem sprouts have become ^ about an 
inch in length, turn the box over so that the tips of the 
grains point upward. Notice how the sprouts turn about, 
one to grow toward the earth, the other toward the Ught. 

53. The Embryo becomes a Seedling. — An embryo 
becomes a seedling when it germinates. It remains a 
seedling as long as it depends upon the reserve food stored 
for it in the seed. Under favorable conditions for growth, 



76 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

the supply of food in a grain of wheat may all be used in 
ten days, producing a vigorous young plant, which is then 
able to gather and manufacture its own food. In cold, wet 
weather, it may take the young plant a month to get 
established. 

It may be stated as a rule that 'Hhe shorter the time 
between planting and germination, the more vigorous the 
seedling " ; and also that the shorter the time between 
germination and the stage when the plant is able to main- 
tain an independent growth, the more vigorous the plant. 

In the early stages of the development of a plant, the 
root system develops faster than thp leaves. This insures 
the plant a supply of water and anchors it firmly in the 
ground. 

Our next lesson is to be about plant roots. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is a seed? 

2. Draw from memory an outline of a grain of corn and 
name its parts. 

3. What is meant by seed germination ? 

4. What are the conditions necessary for the germination 
of a seed? 

5. How can you prove that a germinating seed needs oxygen ? 

6. Name three ways by which a farmer may assist oxygen to 
reach the planted seed. 

7. How is heat generated in a germinating seed ? 

8. How can you prove that a germinating seed gives off 
carbon dioxide? 

9. What is the use of the reserve food stored in a seed? 
What influence has the amount of reserve food upon the vigor 
of the seedling? 

10. As a seedling develops into a young plant, in what direc- 
tion do the plumule and the radicle grow? Can you tell why? 



CHAPTER IX 
THE WORK OF ROOTS 

54. What Roots do. — The functions of the roots of a 
plant are four in number : 

First : to gather moisture and plant food and conduct 
them to the stems and leaves. 

Second : to help dissolve mineral plant food. 
Third : to hold the plant erect. 
Fourth : to act as a storehouse for food. 

55. Gathering Food and Moisture. — We have already 
learned that '' roots search for food and moisture in the 
soil as though they had eyes." No matter how deep or 
shallow, how extensive or limited the root system, mois- 
ture and plant food are taken in. There must be some 
force, or law, which governs this intake. Let us find 
out what it is. 

EXERCISE 25 

Object. — To determine why moisture enters the roots of 
plants. 

Procedure. — Select a fresh carrot, preferably one an 
inch or more in diameter. Bore or cut a hole a half inch 
in diameter downward from the top and extending at 
least two inches into the carrot. Pour into it a spoonful 
of sugar and fill it nearly full of water. Plug the hole 
with a rubber or wooden cork, which fits tightly so that 
water can not escape around it. There should be a small 

77 



78 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 




hole through this cork, through which a glass tube is thrust 
so that the lower end reaches into the sirup in the carrot 
while the other end extends into the air. Set the carrot 

upright in a glass of 
water, taking care, 
however, that the 
upper end of it is 
not covered with 
water. Record each 
day how far the sirup 
has risen in the tube. 
Small rubber tubing 
may be used to con- 
nect the glass tube 
to another one when 
the sirup has reached 
the top. 

C on clu s ion . — 
When two liquids are 
separated by a plant 
or animal membrane, 
they tend to mix 
through it, this phe- 
nomenon being known 
as osmose. The 
denser liquid, which 
in this case is the 
sugar sirup in the 
carrot, draws the less 
dense, or the water 
outside, much more 
rapidly than the water draws the sirup. This is known as 
the law of osmose. Since the dense substance trades 
only a little of itself for a great deal of the thinner sub- 



J 



Fig. 25. — A root taking water and forc- 
ing it upward through the glass tube. 



THE WORK OF ROOTS 79 

stance, it must make room for the surplus gained in the 
transaction. In the experiment just performed, it crawls 
up the tube. 

The roots of plants, having within them contents which 
are denser than the soil water, draw this soil water with its 
dissolved minerals into themselves, forcing it upward 
through the stems into the leaves. 

It sometimes happens that the soil water contains 
enough dissolved material to make it denser than the 
Hquid contents of the roots. In this case, in which direc- 
tion would the greater flow of liquid be? 

Fields of cotton, corn and other crops wilt during times 
when the rainfall is Ught if too much of commercial fer- 
tihzers has been previously added to them. Why is this 

true ? 

Tell in your own words how roots gather moisture and 
plant food from the soil. Also, tell under what conditions 
roots may lose their moisture. 

56. Roots are Able to select the Minerals which they 
need. — The roots of a given plant not only draw from 
the soil their mineral plant food dissolved in water, but in 
some way which we do not yet understand, they choose, 
or select, those elements which they need, leaving others 
unabsorbed. This is shown by the fact that the clover 
plant when in flower and the barley plant in flower contain 
about the same amount of mineral matter, yet the clover 
contains almost six times as much lime as the barley, 
while the barley contains about eighteen times as much 
of the mineral of which white sand is composed as does the 
clover. 

Grain crops remove large quantities of phosphorus 
from the soil, while the root crops remove much potassium. 
Timothy requires plenty of nitrogen. The best system 



80 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

of rotation not only takes into account the water-holding 
capacity and the mellowness of the soil but also the feeding 
requirements of the preceding crops. 

57. The Origin of Roots. — Since roots not only gather 
moisture and dissolve mineral matter, but also conduct 
them upward to the stems or leaves, we might be led to 
suppose that a plant has two kinds of roots. Such is the 
case. 

Only the young, tender portions, near the tips of the 
roots, and the root hairs which grow out from these new 
portions, can absorb moisture. These are known as 
absorbing roots. 

As the root becomes older, the root hairs disappear and 
the surface becomes covered with almost waterproof, 
woody layers. It serves then only to hold the plant erect 
and to conduct the moisture from the soil to the leaves. 
Such roots are known as anchorage roots. Since they are 
sometimes called upon to hold against the terrific force of 
the wind, they must have a firm grip upon the roots from 
which they grow. We shall soon see that they originate, 
or branch, from the strong central portion of the root, 
called the central cylinder. These anchorage roots often 
tend to contract in length, thus fixing, or holding the plant 
more firmly in position. The crown or rosette of leaves 
of the dandelion, for example, which seems to be trying to 
escape being cut off by the lawn mower, is really being drawn 
into the soil by the contraction of its large anchorage root. 

The absorbing roots, which, as has been said, consist 
of only the youngest portions of the anchorage roots and 
the multitudes of root hairs which grow from them, 
increase the absorbing surface of the young root from 
five to twenty times. Later, as the absorbing roots become 
anchorage roots, losing their root hairs and becoming 



THE WORK OF ROOTS 81 

covered over with layers of wood, other root hairs form in 
profusion on the still newer portions which are of course 
located in other feeding grounds. 

EXERCISE 26 

Object. — To study the origin of root hairs and anchor- 
age roots. 

Procedure. — With the aid of a blunt knife or paddle, 
remove with some of the soil surrounding it a young radish 
seedling which has been growing in the sand for several 
days. Note how the soil clings to the roots. Carefully 
wash the clinging particles away. Examine the roots at 
once with a hand lens, or better still, with a microscope. 
See if you can find where a single cell in the surface of the 
root has elongated into a root hair as shown in Figure 26. 

Split a parsnip or carrot lengthwise and see how the 
anchorage roots originate or grow out from the stringy 
central portion, the central cylinder, of the parent root. 
If any other root is split in the same way at the point 
where the anchorage root joins the parent root, its union 
with the central cylinder of the larger root may be as 
easily seen. 

Conclusion. — Which roots will be more easily torn 
away when a plant is transplanted, — the absorbing or 
the anchorage roots? Why? Which class absorbs 
moisture and mineral plant food? Leaves throw off large 
quantities of water when in direct sunlight. Why do we 
shade a cabbage, tomato, or other young plant when it is 
first set out ? How long is the shade necessary? Why do 
we often remove, or cut away, the twigs or leaves of a 
tree or shrub when transplanting it? 

58. How Roots work their Way through the Soil. — 
A young root must work its way through the soil, avoiding 

G 



82 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



obstacles, seeking for food and moisture. It must there- 
fore follow a somewhat snakelike indirect course. Even 
so, this wandering sort of growth would be itnpossible 
were not the root peculiarly adapted for it in two ways : 
(1) The end of the root is protected by a sort of cap. 

(2) Growth in length 
takes place only in the 
region just back of this 
cap. 

This arrangement en- 
ables the young root to 
^^feel" its way among the 
soil particles with the deli- 
cate cells at the end pro- 
tected ; and it is not shoved 
or pushed forward as it 
would be if growth in 
length took place at any 
considerable distance back 
from the tip. 

The root hairs appear 
only in the region of growth. 
They grow in the moist air 
between the particles of soil, 
with which they come in 
contact and against which 
they flatten themselves 
that they may take up the film of moisture with which 
these particles are covered. 




Fig. 26. — A root hair in con- 
tact with soil particles (very much 
enlarged) . 



59. The Extent and Depth of Roots. — The first thing 
to know in the cultivation of any crop, after learning the 
soil and seed bed requirements, is the nature of the root 
system of the particular plant. Shall we give deep culti- 



THE WORK OF ROOTS 83 

vation while the plant is young, and shallow cultivation 
later, or shall we follow just the opposite plan? " But," 
you say, '' how can we study the root systems of plants 
when they are out of sight beneath the ground? " Let 
us try to do it. 

EXERCISE 27 

Object. — To study the root systems of the corn and 

bean. 

Procedure. — Plant in a wire basket several kernels of 
corn, and in another basket several beans. These baskets 
should be at least six inches square, have the same depth, 
and be made of very fine woven wire. Wrap a piece 
of cheesecloth very carefully about each one to prevent 
the dirt from sifting through the sides and bottoms, and 
fill them with fine garden soil. 

When the seeds have sprouted well, remove all but 
one of the strongest. When the corn plant is six or eight 
inches high, remove the cheesecloth from this basket, and 
also from the one containing the bean and thrust pieces of 
rather fine wire through the sides of the basket and through 
the soil. These wires will hold the roots in their natural 
position when the soil is washed away. Now place each 
basket in a pan or bucket of water and move it slowly 
back and forth until all the soil falls away, leaving the 

roots exposed. 

If you have larger baskets, the roots may of course be 
studied when the plants are older. 

Conclusion. — You will find that the long, or temporary 
root of the corn plant has withered or is withering away, 
and in its stead, quite close to the base of the stem, a mass 
of fine fibrous roots is developing. This mass of fibrous 
roots is formed in all the cereals just beneath the surface 
of the ground regardless of the depth at which the seed is 
planted. 



84 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

In the dicotyledon, the bean, you will see that the first 
root is a permanent one and grows downward rather deep 
into the soil. Bear in mind these characteristic root habits 
when you come to study the cereals and legumes. The 
roots of the clovers and alfalfa penetrate deep into the 
subsoil, bringing up plant food which is left near the sur- 
face when these crops are plowed under. The shallow- 
rooted cereals and grasses which follow them are thus 
benefited. 

Draw in your notebooks the root systems of the corn 
and the bean. 

60. How Roots help dissolve Mineral Matter. — In 

Section 7 we learned that certain mineral elements are 
essential to the growth of any plant. These elements 
are found in the soil, and it is a part of the work of roots, 
by the excretion of acids, to help dissolve them. 

EXERCISE 28 

Object. — To show that roots give out, as well as take in. 

Procedure. — Fill a small bottle almost full of water, 
and add a few drops of ammonia water, or dissolve in it a 
grain or two of ordinary lye. Drop a slip of pink litmus 
paper into it, and its color will begin to change. In a 
short time it will have become blue. This shows that the 
solution is alkaline, for alkalies turn pink or red litmus 
paper blue. 

Now add a little acid of any kind, — vinegar will do, — 
and presently the slip of blue paper will begin to change in 
color again, turning this time from blue to red. Finally, 
its color will be about the same as it was at the beginning. 
This shows that the solution is now acid, for acids turn 
blue litmus paper red. We are able by this test to tell 
whether any solution is acid or alkaline. 



THE WORK OF ROOTS 85 

Now empty the bottle, rinse thoroughly, and fill again 
nearly full of water. Put into it a slip of litmus paper 
which you have made blue as you did the one above. 

Wash the dirt from the roots of a seedhng plant and 
lower them into the bottle of water. Fasten some paper 
about the bottle to exclude the light from the roots. 
About forty-eight hours later, examine the litmus paper 
to see if its color has changed. 

Conclusion. — Would you say that the roots must have 
given off some acid into the water ? How does the litmus 
paper show this? Acids dissolve many minerals. What 
is the use of this acid given off by the roots ? Since roots 
of different plants feed at different depths, why is the 
rotation of crops beneficial ? 

Write out how acids and how alkalies change the color 
of litmus paper. 

61. How Roots hold Plants Erect. — One of the im- 
portant functions of the roots of a plant is to anchor it in 
the place where it is to develop, that its leaves and stems 
may be held upright in the air. Some plants have a much 
firmer grip on the soil than do others, and may for this 
reason be called soil binders. Large areas of sandy soil 
along Lake Michigan were in former years almost devoid 
of vegetation. The shifting of the sands by the high 
winds destroyed nearly all young plants before they could 
become established." By the use of beach grass and 
other grasses, the shifting of parts of this soil has been 
stopped ; and the land that was formerly waste, is now of 
use. The western wheat grass is much used by railroad 
companies to bind embankments. Large tracts of land 
on mountain sides have in the past been stripped of their 
trees. The roots soon decayed, and great scars, gullies 
and canons were washed out, making the land worthless 



86 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



for a second crop of trees. If a few of the trees only had 
been removed, this injury to the soil would have been 
avoided. 

Land that tends to wash may well be sown to some 
perennial crop which does not require cultivation. 

The grip that roots have on the soil is well shown by 
the stump puller. The power required to pull even a small 
plant from the soil is indeed surprising. 




Fig. 27. — Denuded and gullied land. This was once pasture land. 



EXERCISE 29 

Object. — To demonstrate the hold which roots have in 
the soil. 

Procedure. — Secure a potted plant which has a well- 
established root system and a tough stem. Fasten a 
small wheel in the end of an upright stick, and pass a string 
over it, forming a pulley. Wrap a piece of paper about 
the stem of the plant and tie one end of the string firmly 



THE WORK OF ROOTS 



87 



about it. Pass the string over the pulley, and tie a bottle 
or other container on the end. Now put shot or sand into 
the bottle, a little at a time, until weight enough has been 
secured to pull the plant from the pot. Weigh both shot 
and bottle. 

Conclusion. — Why is it that such rivers as the Ohio, 
Mississippi and others 
in the Central West 
carry so much greater 
quantities of mud at 
present than in an 
early day when the 
land which they drain 
was in native grasses 
and timber ? Why do 
railroad companies 
and land owners plant 
willows along the 
banks of encroaching 
streams ? From this 
experiment, would 
you say that the 
roots of plants bind 
the soil quite firmly 
together ? Why does 
the government often 
prohibit the cutting 

of timber entirely off from hill and mountain sides on 
public lands ? 




Fig. 28. — Pulling up a plant by means 
of a pulley and weight. 



62. The Root a Storehouse of Food. — Every plant 
stores in its stems and roots certain amounts of reserve 
food to be drawn upon in time of need. The members of 
one great class of plants which live two years and are 



88 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

therefore called biennials spend one whole season in storing 
food in their roots to be used the following season in 
producing seed. The carrot, parsnip, beet, turnip, mangel 
wurtzel and sugar beet are excellent examples of this class 
of plants. 

63. Benefits of Roots. — In performing the functions 
for which Nature intended them, roots assist in a remark- 
able way in maintaining a permanent agriculture : 

They loosen the soil by their deep and ramifying growth. 

They bind the soil and thus prevent washing and blow- 
ing. 

They offer a home for friendly bacteria, which are 
known in certain cases to gather nitrogen from the air, 
thus adding to the store of plant food in the soil. 

They enrich the soil when they decay. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name fear functions of roots. 

2. By what law do roots gather moisture from the soil ? 

3. Under what conditions do roots lose moisture? 

4. What two classes of roots do plants have? What is 
the function of each? 

5. Why does a cabbage wilt when transplanted? Why do 
we protect newly planted vegetables from direct sunlight ? 

6. Where does growth take place in a young root? 

7. Compare the root systems of the corn and bean. 

8. How do roots help dissolve mineral plant food ? 

9. How can you prove that roots have a firm grip on the 
soil ? 

10. Name four benefits of roots. 



CHAPTER X 

THE WORK OF LEAVES 

Certain plants reproduce themselves without seeds. 
Some get along without stems. None of the important 
higher plants, however, can exist without roots and leaves. 

64. Functions and Uses of Leaves. — Leaves are of 
use to man as food, for the shade which they afford, and 
for beauty. These benefits are incidental, however, to 
the three functions which Nature has given them to per- 
form. These functions are : 

First : to manufacture out of the water from the soil, 
and the carbon dioxide from the air, starch for the plant. 
This is known as photosijnthesis} 

Second : to give off the surplus water taken in by the 
roots. This is called transpiration. 

Third : to act as a storehouse for food. 

65. The Manufacture of Starch. — The phenomenon 
of starchmaking takes place only in the green leaves and 
green twigs of plants. Just how carbon dioxide, an 
invisible gas existing in the air, can be made to unite 
with water to form starch, liberating oxygen at the same 
time, we can not say. Yet upon the fact that it does so 
in the green leaves of plants, all life in the earth depends. 

^ The term photosynthesis is derived from photo, meaning 
light, and synthesis, the act of putting together. It means, then, 
the act of putting together, or building up, by light. The 
reaction is : 

6 CO2 + 5 H2O + Light = CeHioOs + 6 O2 

89 



90 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



66. The Green Leaf likened to a MiU. — The process 
may be likened to the work in a mill where corn and oats, 
we shall say, are ground together to make the " grist." 
The water from the root corresponds to the corn ; the car- 
bon dioxide from the air, to the oats ; the green leaf, to 

the mill ; the sun- 
light to the en- 
gine; and the 
starch formed, to 
the grist. If any 
part is lacking, 
no grist can be 
produced. 

EXERCISE 30 

Object. — To 
learn how and 
when food is man- 
ufactured in the 
leaves. 

Procedure. — 
Place a few grains 
of starch in a 
saucer and cover with two or three teaspoonfuls of water. 
Add a drop of tincture of iodine, and note that a blue-black 
color appears. This is the test for the presence of starch. 
Secure a potted plant, or use any growing plant in the 
schoolyard. Provide several corks and pins, a small pan 
of wood alcohol and some tincture of iodine. Place 
slices of cork on opposite sides of a leaf and thrust a pin 
through both to hold them snugly and firmly against the 
leaf so that no sunlight can reach it where they are held 
against its surface. The remainder of the leaf will be 
exposed to the light. Prepare several leaves in this way. 




Pig. 29. — The green leaf as a mill. 



THE WORK OF LEAVES 91 

Set the plant in the sunhght, and after it has been there 
several hours, remove the leaves to which the corks are 
attached. Remember that the exclusion of light from the 
portions of these leaves between the corks has probably 
put a stop to the work of starchmaking there. 

Place the leaves of the plants in a dish of water and 
boil them for ab.out one minute to break down the tissues. 
Transfer them to a bottle of alcohol. Cork tightly and 
set away for a day or more. If this does not remove 
the green coloring matter, transfer them to a dish of al- 
cohol and boil them in it until the coloring matter is dis- 
solved and the entire leaf is white. In this case, use the 
utmost care that your alcohol does not boil over, take 
fire and burn up your leaves. 

Now put the leaves into some tincture of iodine, diluted 
with water. Allow them to remain in this solution three 
or four minutes. Remove and wash them with fresh 
water and spread them out on clean sheets of paper. 

Test fine pieces of potato, crushed corn and powdered 
rice or wheat flour for starch. Tell how and where this 
starch was manufactured. 

Conclusion. — Describe fullv the results secured with 
the leaves and explain. If weeds, or other plants, cut off 
the sunlight from growing plants, what part of the " mill " 
indicated in Figure 29 is shut off ? Why are plants which 
are crowded often spindling in growth ? Why do sprout- 
ing potatoes in the cellar grow toward the light of the 
window ? 

67. How Other Foods are made. — The starch, manu- 
factured in the green leaves, is one of the chief food mate- 
rials of the plant, but it is of the utmost importance for 
still another reason. With starch as a basis, the plant 
makes many other kinds of foods, such as sugars, fats, 



92 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

oils and proteins, using, when needed, those essential 
elements which come to it in the soil water. 

It is from the various food materials, made in this way, 
that the plant derives the energy that makes its own growth 
possible. It is from them that all of its tissues are built, 
whether wood, bark, fiber, blossoms, fruits or grains. 
Moreover, animals depend upon these food materials 
made by the plant just as does the plant itself, for it is 
from them that animals derive all of their heat and energy 
and tissue-building material. 

Thus we see that out of the raw materials — the ten 
essential elements which come to them from the soil and 
air — plants are able to make the food supply not only 
for themselves, but for all animal life as well. That is 
to say, while man may eat the flesh of animals, he may be 
sure that these animals were in turn dependent upon 
plants for their existence, or upon other animals, perhaps, 
whose food supply was drawn from plants. 

As the Father of Waters, the great Mississippi, may be 
traced to its source in the highlands of Minnesota, so the 
food supply of the world can be traced back to its source 
in the green leaves of plants where carbon dioxide and 
water, and minerals from the earth, by the power of the 
sun, unite to form the food substances that make it possible 
for plants and animals, including man himself, to live. 

68. Amount of Water, Food Material and Ash in 
Plants. — The weight lost by plants in drying repre- 
sents the water held in the tissues. The weight lost in 
burning represents the food manufactured in the leaves. 
The ash remaining after burning contains all of the minerals 
which come from the soil except the nitrogen, which escapes 
into the air in the process of burning. 



THE WORK OF LEAVES 93 

EXERCISE 31 

Object. — To determine how much food is manufactured 
in the leaves. 

Procedure. — Cut into very fine pieces one hundred 
grams of potato, grass, apple or any grain. Weigh 
again after cutting to make sure that your original weights 
are accurate. Set the pan or dish containing your material 
on the back of the stove or in an oven. When perfectly 
dry but not burned, weigh again. 

Put the dried material into a dish which will withstand 
heat, and carefully burn it over a hot fire. When nothing 
but white ashes remains, take the final weight. 

Conclusion. — How much water did the material which 
you used contain? Where did it come from? Will it 
get back to the soil again? If so, how? How much food 
material and how much ash did the substance which 
you used contain ? Where did each come from ? What 
element came from the soil but escaped into the air? 
Give two reasons why cornstalks and straw should not 
be burned. (Sections 4 and 68.) How do your results 
compare with those of others who used other material? 
Why do grains produce more flesh and energy in animals 
than the same weight of green forage, potatoes, beets or 
other root crops? 

69. The Water given ofE by Leaves. — The minerals 
which a plant takes in are really received in a very weak 
solution^ In other words, a great deal of water is ab- 
sorbed to get a small amount of phosphorus, potassium 
or any other element required from the soil. The excess 
of water must escape, and it does so through the leaves. 
On the under side of leaves, and to a limited extent on 
the upper side also, are found numerous tiny openings, 
called stomata. These stomata are guarded on either 



94 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

side by cells, known as guard cells. When there is more 
than enough water to unite with the carbon dioxide to 
form starch, and when the sun is shining, these cells draw 
apart and allow the water in the leaf to escape and the 
carbon dioxide to enter. This escape of water, which is 
in the form of invisible vapor, through the stomata 
of the leaves is called transpiration. 

The roots of a plant must absorb from two hundred 
and twenty-five to nine hundred and fifteen pounds of 
water for every pound of dry matter, or food material 
produced. In times of drouth, the stomata are partially 
or nearly closed, so that transpiration becomes slower. 
During the night, the stomata are closed, but the roots 
absorb moisture in the darkness as well as during the day- 
time. It follows that when moisture reaches the leaves 
in the night, it can not escape, but accumulates both in 
the leaves and back in the stem, making them turgid. 
This explains why plants look fresh in the morning and 
why corn will break under the cultivator in the early 
morning but not at noon. 

We are able by a very simple experiment to determine 
how much water escapes from the leaves. 

EXERCISE 32 

Object. — To determine how much water the leaves of a 
plant throw off. 

Procedure. — Cover with melted paraffin the outside 
and bottom of a flower pot containing a healthy plant. 
Put a cork in one end of a glass tube and thrust the open 
end into the soil in the pot. Cover the surface of the 
soil with melted paraffin which has cooled enough to do 
no injury to the stem of the plant. 

Notice that no water can now escape from the soil in 
the flower pot except by passing out through the plant; 



THE WORK OF LEAVES 



95 



and since little or none escapes from the stems of plants, 
we may say that that which is lost from the pot is given 
off by the leaves. 

Carefully weigh the flower pot and plant. Remove 
the cork from the glass tube each day, pour water through 




Fig. 30. — The water lost by leaves. 



it into the soil, keeping an accurate record of the weight 
of the water so added, and being careful to replace the 
cork each time. At the end of a week, weigh the plant 
and pot again, and from the figures which you will now 
have, determine the amount of water given off by the 
leaves during that time. Measure as accurately as 
possible the number of square inches of leaf surface on the 
plant. 



96 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Conclusion. — Determine how many grams per square 
inch the plant has given off during the week. Reduce it 
to ounces, considering that twenty-eight and three tenths 
grams are equal to one ounce. 

How many tons of water will the velvet weeds in a 
ten-acre field remove in one hundred days if each weed 
throws off as much water per square inch of leaf surface 
per day as the plant with which you have worked ? The 
average leaf surface on each weed is two hundred square 
inches and the average number of weeds is two on each 
square rod. 

70. Storage of Food in the Leaves. — The food which 
is manufactured in the leaves is used by the plant in three 
ways : 

First : to supply the plant with energy with which to 
carry on the processes of growth. 

Second : to build the tissues of which its body is com- 
posed. 

Third : It may be stored away for time of need, such as 
drouth, dormant season, or to nourish the seedhng after 
germination. 

We have already seen how roots may be used as store- 
houses of food. Leaves, like those of the cabbage, or 
those which make up such bulbs as the onion, become 
filled with reserve food, and for this reason are useful to 
man. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Give three functions of leaves. 

2. Draw from memory a leaf considered as a mill, showing 
how food is manufactured within it. 

3. Tell briefly and clearly how you proved that a leaf 
manufactures starch, and that sunUght is necessary. 

4. Why will plants always reach for the hght ? 

5. Name two reasons why starch is important. 



THE WORK OF LEAVES 97 

6. Where do the water, the food material, and the ash of a 
plant come from? 

7. How does water escape from the leaves? 

8. Why will corn break under the cultivator in the early 
morning but not at noon? 

9. How can you find out how much water a plant gives off? 
10. State three ways in which the plant may use the food 

which it manufactures. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE WORK OF STEMS 

71. The Functions of Stems. — The three functions 
which Nature has given stems to perform seem to be : 

First : to hold the leaves up to the light that they may 
manufacture food. 

Second : to conduct the water and dissolved minerals 
from the roots to the leaves. 

Third : to conduct the food manufactured in the leaves 
back again to the roots and other parts of the plant. 

72. The Forms of Stems. — In the effort to hold their 
leaves up to the light, stems grow in three fairly distinct 
forms; (1) prostrate, or trailing, (2) climbing, and (3) 
erect. 

73. Prostrate Stems. — Plants which form this kind of 
stems are often overshadowed by those with erect stems. 
Notwithstanding this fact, a large number of plants have 
prostrate stems. Such plants as the prostrate pigweed, 
purslane, sweet potato and the dooryard weed, or knot- 
weed all have this form of stem. Because of their clinging 
closely to the ground, these plants require less moisture 
than they would if the stems were higher in the air. The 
stems themselves act as a mulch to prevent the escape of 
moisture from the soil while often at the joints roots are 
formed. 

Even when these plants grow among the erect plants 
as the purslane or crab grass grows among the corn, the 

98 



THE WORK OF STEMS 99 

prostrate stems creep, turn and twist to reach the beams 
of hght, which filter through between the blades. When 
we remember the troubles we have had in hoeing these 
weeds from our gardens or fields, we conclude that pros- 
trate stems may get along very well in competition with 
other kinds. 

74. Climbing Stems. — Such plants as the morning 
glory, the grape, and the five-leaved ivy, or Virginia 
creeper, twine their stems around any support they can 
find and thus raise their leaves up to the light. Plants 
with this class of stems are excellent for covering over 
trellises, arbors and fences which may screen buildings 
and unsightly places. When some of these plants, such 
as the wild morning glory and the black bindweed, grow 
among our field crops, they become serious pests. Their 
roots take from the soil, moisture and plant food needed 
by the growing crop, and they interfere with the harvest- 
ing of the crop as well. Moreover, their stems twine 
about the stems of the corn and other plants, which 
makes them extremely hard to destroy. 

75. Erect Stems. — The great majority of plants have 
this kind of stem. They may be short or long, depending 
upon the environment in which they grow. On the plains 
the grasses and prairie flowers have short stems, but they 
are mostly erect. In the forest, the trees form stems of 
remarkable length and strength, and because of this, 
yield us our supply of lumber. Most of our cultivated 
crops have erect stems. For this reason, we are able to 
cultivate the ground close around them ; the binder and 
header can be used to harvest them ; the mower can be 
used to cut them down ; and the stems themselves in ad- 
dition to the leaves often make excellent forage. Those 



100 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



which are harvested or gathered by hand, as the cotton 
and corn, are held up at a convenient height to pick. 

76. Study of the Forms of Stems. — Nothing will 
fix in our minds the habits and uses of stems so well as a 

field study and a col- 
lection of them. 

Gather at least three 
specimens of plants 
with prostrate stems, 
three with climbing 
stems and three with 
erect stems. Record 
in your notebook where 
each was gathered, that 
is, whether in pasture, 
cultivated field, or- 
chard, or elsewhere ; 
also, tell what chance 
it had to get plenty of 
light, and what is the 
use of the plant to man. 

EXERCISE 33 

Object. — To become 
familiar with the char- 
acter of stems. 

Procedure. — Place 
the stem of a mature corn plant, a mature, dry morning 
glory vine and some prostrate plant, as the purslane or 
the prostrate pigweed, on the table before you. Notice 
the joints, or nodes, on the cornstalk ; also that there are 
joints on the other stems, though they are different in 
appearance from those of the corn plant. 




Fig. 31. 



Cornstalks with 
burden. 



an extra 



THE WORK OF STEMS 101 

Conclusion. — Where do the leaves grow out from the 
stems of each of the plants? Are the leaves of the corn 
plant arranged on opposite sides of the stem, or are they 
arranged spirally? How are they arranged on the morn- 
ing glory? Of the three kinds of stems, which would 
need to be most rigid? Why? Do you find it so? 
Which would need the strongest anchorage roots ? Why ? 
Name three cultivated plants with erect stems, three with 
climbing stems and two with prostrate stems. In what 
kind of fields is each grown, and how is it cared for? 

77. How Water travels from Roots to Leaves. — We 
have seen how the roots draw water, containing dissolved 
mineral substances, from the soil. We have learned the 
uses to which this water is put in the leaves. How does 
it pass upward from the roots to the leaves? 

In every plant, extending continuously from the ends 
of the roots to the leaves, are tiny tubes, which are more 
or less connected. These are the water-carrying vessels, 
and united with them are the food-carrying cells which we 
shall study shortly. The two are joined in such a way as 
to form strands, or threads, called fibro-vascular bundles. 

We noted in Section 45 that the common plants are 
divided into two classes, the monocotyledons and the 
dicotyledons. The stems of these two classes are very 
different. In the monocotyledons the bundles described 
above are scattered irregularly, either through the pith 
as in the cornstalk, or through the walls of the hollow 
stems, while in the dicotyledons, they are regularly 
arranged in a circle or circles about the central pith. 

EXERCISE 34 

Object. — To study how the water travels from the 
roots to the leaves. 



102 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Procedure. — Wash the dirt from the roots of a corn 
plant and of a bean plant, each about six or eight inches 
high. Put the two plants in a glass of water containing 
a few drops of red ink. After an hour remove them, and 
with a razor blade cut each plant off at the lower end of 
the stem. Make a thin section of the stem at this point, 
and examine it with a hand lens to see where the water 
has moved upward. Keep cutting thin cross sections 
up the stem until you reach the point where only the 
water-carrying tubes are stained. 

A common house plant, the Sultana, has a very clear 
stem, and the colored water may be watched as it moves 
upward through it. Either the narcissus, or the Chinese 
sacred lily, which you have probably grown in water in 

the schoolroom, may have 
its blossoms colored by add- 
ing dye or ink to the water 
in which it stands. 

Conclusion. — Describe 
briefly how the water-carry- 
ing tubes differ in arrange- 
ment in the corn and bean 
plants. 

78. How to tell the Age 
of a Tree. — In the spring, 
when there is an abundance 
of water, the water-carrying tubes are very large. As the 
season advances and the rainfall becomes less, smaller and 
smaller tubes are made, until in the fall they are so small 
and compact that they look like a ring of denser, harder 
wood. In trees, therefore, which grow from year to year, 
this circular line between the small water-carrying tubes 
of the fall and the large ones of the spring is so plain that 




Fig. 32. — Annual rings. 



THE WORK OF STEMS 103 

we are able to tell the age of the tree, limb or twig by 
counting the rings in its cross section. 

79. How Food travels from Leaves to Roots. — The 
food made in the leaves has three uses. (Section 70.) 
In order that it may be used in any of these ways, it must 
first be conducted from the leaves to the different parts 
of the plant. We have already learned that it takes 
several hundred pounds of water to produce one pound of 
dry matter or food material in the plant. (Section 69.) 
It is evident, then, that the vessels through which the 
manufactured food travels from the leaves to other parts 
of the plant need not be so large as those by which the soil 
water travels from the earth to the leaves. The tubes, 
called sieve tubes, which carry the manufactured food to 
different parts of the plant, are very small indeed ; and 
no careful study can be made of them without specially 
prepared material and a compound microscope. It is 
enough for us here to know that in the dicotyledons, these 
sieve tubes are outside of the water-carrying vessels just 
beneath the bark ; while in the monocotyledons, they 
are connected with the water-carrying vessels, forming the 
fibro-vascular bundles, as explained in Section 77. These 
bundles, which are seen as threads, running through the 
pith of the cornstalk, have the double function, then, of 
carrying water from the soil to the leaves, and manufac- 
tured food from the leaves back to other parts of the plant. 

You have perhaps noticed that where a notch has been 
cut in a tree, a callus is formed above, but not below, the 
cut. This means that the food on its downward path has 
found a place where the " bridge is out " and has piled up 
on the bank on the side from which it has come. Girdling 
a tree is simply the cutting away of the bark and the sieve 
tubes just beneath it. This stops the current of food and 



104 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



starves the roots. A girdled tree does not sprout from the 
stump. 

80. The Flow of Sap. — We have perhaps heard that 
the sap flows upward in the spring and back downward 
in the fall. This is not the case. The roots absorb water 
throughout the growing season and this water moves up- 




FiG. 33. — How a graft is made and how it grows together. 

ward rather rapidly through the water-carrying tubes 
to the leaves where food is manufactured ; and throughout 
the growing season, the food manufactured in the leaves 
oozes back downward through the sieve tubes to all parts 
of the plant. 

81. The Cambium Layer. — In the dicotyledons, there 
is a layer of cells between the water-carrying vessels and 
the sieve tubes which lie outside of them. This is known 
as the cambium layer. It is the thin, wet, slippery layer 



THE WORK OF STEMS 105 

which we find when we remove the bark from a tree or 
twig. It is here that all growth takes place and that new 
sieve tubes or water-carrying vessels are formed as the 
plant has need of them. When we reach the subject of 
grafting, we shall have to remember that the cambium 
layers of the root and the twig must be actually touching 
each other or the two will not grow together. 

82. Rope, Twine and Linen Material. — We can not 

conclude our study of stems without learning something 
of the spindle-shaped cells, called bast fibers, which often 
make up a part of the outer portion of the stem. They 
give it strength and flexibility. 

The bast fibers of the hemp and flax, which are grown 
in different parts of the United States ; of the Manila 
hemp, which is a small tree of the banana family found in 
the Philippines ; and of the century plants of Mexico 
yield us our chief supply of rope, twine and linen thread 
material. 

The stems of the hemp and flax are allowed to soften 
by partial decay in the field, or hot water is used, and the 
wood removed, leaving the long fibers, which are bleached 
and spun into the material desired. These fibers may be 
found in the wild hemp nettle which grows along creeks 
and in low places. If the stem is broken in winter, the 
long strands of bast fibers may be secured and woven or 
braided. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name three functions of stems. 

2. Name three forms of stems, 

3. Name two weeds with prostrate stems, two with climbing 
stems, and two with erect stems. 

4. How does water from the soil reach the leaves ? 

5. Why does a callus form above, but not below, a cut in 
the bark of a tree? 



106 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

6. Why will girdling kill a tree ? 

7. How does the arrangement of the water-carrying vessels 
differ in the corn and bean ? Of what do the threads in the pith of 
a cornstalk consist ? 

8. Describe the flow of sap. 

9. What is the cambium layer ? How could you find it in a 
twig? 

10. How, and from what part of hemp and flax do we get our 
linen thread, rope and twine ? 



CHAPTER XII 
THE WORK OF FLOWERS 

83. The Work in which All Parts join. — All parts of 
the plant work together to do these two things : 

First : to provide for the needs of the growing plant. 
Second : to provide some way by which another genera- 
tion of the same kind of plants may be produced. 

84. What the Flower does. — Nearly all plants are 
propagated, or continued from generation to generation, 
by seed. It is the business of flowers to produce this seed. 

Each part of the flower plays some part, directly or in- 
directly, in the production of seed. We shall soon see 
why some are attractively colored ; why some are green 
and unattractive ; why some are fragrant and some odor- 
less ; why it is necessary for bees or other insects to go 
from clover blossom to clover blossom or from strawberry 
blossom to strawberry blossom ; why, if they fail to do so, 
the clover plants produce no seed and the strawberry 
plants no fruit ; why the corn lifts its tassel high in the 
air and why the cane produces its seed on the top of the 
stalk. 

Let us proceed step by step to find out some of these 
interesting and important facts and to get a glimpse also 
of hidden changes, which take place within the flower 
before the seed begins to form. 

The first step will be to learn the parts of the flower. 

107 



108 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



EXERCISE 35 



STI^Af^ 



C^IVX 




ST>JLe 






Object. — To become familiar with a flower and its parts. 
Procedure. — Lay on the desk before you (1) the flower 
of a dicotyledon, such as the apple, pear or petunia ; also 
(2) the flower of a monocotyledon, as a head of cane, 
foxtail or millet, which is just in bloom. Beginning at 
the stem, compare the flower of the dicotyledon before 
you with the drawing in Figure 34. 

At its base, you find five stiff, green leaf -like organs. 
These are the sepals; and all of them taken together are 

called the calyx. They 
afford protection to the 
co/{cuji blossom before it opens. 
Next above these, 
we find the petals, pure 
white or bright in color. 
Whether united, as they 
are in the petunia, or 
separate, as in the apple 
or pear, the petals make up the corolla. These serve to 
attract insects. 

Next, just inside the corolla, we find a number of small, 
usually yellow, oblong or round bodies, held erect on tiny 
stems. These are the stamens. The tiny, thread-like 
stem of each one is the filament, the body at its tip, the 
anther, and inside the anther, is a powdery substance 
called the pollen. 

Lastly, and usually in the center of the flower, we find 
a part, expanded or divided at the top, and joined by a 
thread-like stem somewhat larger than the filament with 
little seed cavities in the base of the flower. The whole 
of this central portion is called the pistil; the upper 
divided or expanded part is the stigma; the lower portion, 



Fig 



34. — Parts of a 
flower. 



dicotyledonous 



THE WORK OP FLOWERS 



109 



containing the cavities in which the seeds will form, is 
the ovary; and the connecting portion, or stem, is the 
style. 

Let us turn now to the other class of flowers before us. 

We must look upon each head of these monocotyledons, 
not as a single flower, but as a mass of flowers arranged 
in groups of two along a central axis. That is, we find two 
flowers together against this axis, 
then, a little higher and on the 
opposite side of it, we find two 
more, and so on. 

Study each group now a little 
more closely. You find 7io se- 
pals. Instead, you find at the 
base of each group two stiff, 
husk-like organs which are called 
glumes. Above these glumes are 
the two flowers. 

At the base of each of these 
flowers are two thin, husk-like 
organs, one of which is smaller 
and thinner than the other and a, glumes ; b, flowering 

partly inclosed by it. The large glumes ; c, paleas ; d, stamens • 

one is called the floweriiig glume, 

the smaller one, the palea. Inclosed by these two are 
three stamens, while at the center is a rounded ovary, from 
which rise two long, feathery stigmas. 

Compare now, part by part, these flowers with those of 
the dicotyledons already studied. Point out and name 
all parts of each flower. 

If you can do this, you may take pride as well as pleasure 
in the achievement. It is from flowers like these that all 
grains, fruits, and seeds are produced. Very many people 
are content to become familiar with only the flowers of the 




Fig. 35. — Parts of a monocot^ 
yledonous flower. 



no SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

first group ; yet all of our common field crops have flowers 
of the second kind. 

Conclusion. — Write a careful description of the flowers 
with which you have been working, naming and describ- 
ing each part. State whether the flower is fragrant and 
give the color of its corolla. After you have studied 
Sections 87 and 88, complete your notes here by telling 
whether the pollen from the flower is scattered by the wind 
or insects, and state how you know. 

85. Parts of the Flower on Separate Plants or on 
Different Parts of the Same Plant. — The flowers of the 
plants we have chosen to study have all their parts to- 
gether ; but from this it does not follow that the parts of 
the flowers of all plants are so arranged. In the corn, 
for instance, the tassel at the top of the stalk produces all 
the stamens, while the ear, which is a collection of pistils, 
is borne about midway on the stalk. Similarly, there are 
two kinds of flowers on every pumpkin vine, — one, which 
bears stamens and is therefore called staminate, while 
the second one bears the pistil and is called a pistillate 
flower. You can easily recognize the pistillate flower, 
for at its base a small pumpkin is beginning to form. In 
certain varieties of strawberries, all the flowers are pistil- 
late ; and unless another variety is near which bears 
stamens, no fruit will be produced. In mulberries, per- 
simmons and some other trees, the staminate and pis- 
tillate flowers are borne on separate trees, 

86. How the Pollen gets from One Plant to another. — 

Hold the ripe anthers of the petunia against the palm of the 
hand and they will leave a purple-gray mark. If you had a 
microscope to examine the spot, you would find it made 
up of very many minute grains, which we call pollen. 



THE WORK OF FLOWERS 111 

Examine the stigma of the petunia to see if it is sticky. 
Touch it to your tongue to learn if it is sweet. 

Before a seed will form, a pollen grain must alight on 
the stigma. This is the first step in seed formation, which 
we call pollination. 

It is a rule of Nature that the flowers of few plants care 
to receive their own pollen. There are very few plants 
but that have adapted themselves so that they receive 
pollen from other plants of the same kind. The principal 
agents in carrying pollen from one plant to another are 
insects and the wind. 

87. The Flowers which depend upon Insects to carry 
Pollen. — Plants which depend upon insects to bring 
them pollen or to transport their own have : 

(1) Bright colored flowers, which attract the bees and 
other insects. 

(2) A perfume, or fragrance, as in the case of the clover 
or plum blossom, which invites the insect. 

(3) Glands bearing nectar, which is gathered by insects 
and made by bees into honey. 

(4) Pollen, which is gathered by insects for food and 
which is called beebread when found in the cells of the 
honeycomb. 

(5) The stigmas so placed that they come in contact 
with the insect's body. 

(6) Pollen, which sticks to the insect's body. 

(7) Stigmas, which are expanded and sticky to receive 
the pollen which the insect may bring from other plants. 

88. The Flowers which depend upon Wind to carry 
Pollen. — Plants which send their pollen by the wind 
or catch that which drifts through the air have : 

(1) Exposed flowers with no sepals or petals to stop 
the drifting pollen. 



112 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



(2) Enough pollen produced to allow for enormous 
waste. A single corn plant may produce as many as 
fifty thousand pollen grains. Scarcely one in a thousand 
reaches the stigma of a flower. 




Fig. 36. 



Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Bee.s in clover blossoms. 



(3) Dry, powdery pollen which floats easily in the air. 

(4) Flowers for the most part on top of the stalk or 
stem where they are exposed to the wind. 

(5) Stigmas in the form of feathers, as in Figure 35, or 
like the silks of corn. Both of these easily catch the 
drifting pollen. 

89. What happens after the Pollen reaches the Stigma. 

— As we have said, pollination is the first step in the forma- 
tion of seed after the flower has opened. 



THE WORK OP^ FLOWERS 113 

If we place the pollen of the sweet pea blossom in a 
very small glass dish containing slightly sweetened water, 
in less than an hour we can see with the aid of a microscope 
the pollen grains beginning to germinate. In perhaps two 
hours a long slender tube will extend far out from the 
original pollen grain. 

When a pollen grain falls upon a stigma, it absorbs 
moisture and nourishment from the latter and sends out 
a tube, just as do those of the sweet pea in sweetened water. 
This tube pushes its way down the style into the ovary. 
Here in a small organ, called the ovule, a sperm cell from 
the pollen tube and an egg cell within the ovule unite, and 
a seed begins to form. This union of sperm and egg cells, 
which is the second step in seed formation, is called 
fertilization. 

90. Cross-Fertilization the Rule. — As a rule, cross- 
fertihzation, in which the pollen of one plant fertihzes the 
ovules of another plant, produces the greatest number of 
seeds capable of germination. Self-fertiHzation, in which 
the pollen of a plant fertihzes its own ovules, tends to 
produce no seeds at all or small seeds of which few or none 
are capable of germination. 

There are a few important exceptions to this rule, some 
notable ones being the oat, wheat, barley and cotton 
plants. As might be expected, the seed from a self- 
fertiUzed plant is less subject to variation than the seed 
from one which is cross-fertilized. 

91. Cross-Fertilization by Hand. — It is possible for 
us to secure the pollen from a plant, place it on the stigma 
of another plant, and thus know both parents of the seed 
we secure. If the flowers of the plant which is to receive 
the pollen contain both stamens and pistils, the stamens 
must be removed with a small pair of scissors and the 



114 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



flower covered with a paper or mosquito netting bag to 
prevent self-fertilization or its receiving any other pollen 
than that which we have selected. If the pistil is produced 

on a separate plant, it 
must be covered also ex- 
cept when we are placing 
pollen upon it. When 
the pistil is ready to re- 
ceive the pollen, we select 
and carry it to the plant 
bearing the pistil, remove 
the sack gently, shake 
the pollen on the stigma, 
or better still, place it 
there with a fine camel's 
hair brush, tie the sack 
securely about the blos- 
som again and the deed 
is done. 

Ordinarily no results 
from this cross are seen 
in the first crop of seed 
secured. The plants 
which come from this 
seed, however, often pre- 
sent a variety of form and 
flowers, some resembling 
one parent and some an- 
other with many inter- 
mediate types. 

Fertilization by hand 
properly belongs to a kind of work called plant breeding, 
and requires special knowledge. As amateurs, we can not 
expect great results from it. 




Fig. 37. — Blossom fixed for crossing. 



THE WORK OF FLOWERS 



115 



This matter of cross-fertilization, however, has a striking 
apphcation in the case of the corn plant. The best develop- 
ment of the ear of corn is seen only in case the seed from 
which it grew was fertilized by pollen from another plant ; 




Fig. 38. — Flowers of the corn plant. 



but since the tassel which bears the pollen is directly above 
the silks which receive it, self-fertilization very often takes 
place. 

By going through a field of corn when the tassels are 
just coming out and cutting them off as they appear in 



116 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

every other row, we are able to secure cross-fertilized ears 
in the detasseled rows since their own pollen is destroyed 
and they must be fertilized by that from other plants. 

If, now, the corn from the detasseled rows is used as 
seed, it will ordinarily produce more vigorous plants and 
likewise a larger yield per acre than will seed which has 
been fertilized in part by its own pollen. This is true, 
however, only of the first year's crop as after this much of 
the seed is again self-fertilized. 

Next summer, suppose you make an experiment of this 
sort by detasseling every other row in a part of your field 
at home. The following spring plant some of the seed 
from these detasseled rows and compare the yield secured 
with that from other seed. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the business of flowers? 

2. From memory, draw a diagram of the flower of a petunia 
and name its parts. 

3. Name two cultivated plants which have their flower 
parts on different parts of the plant. 

4. Name several cultivated plants which have both stamens 
and pistils in the same flower. 

5. Define the term pollination. 

6. What are the two agents by which plants secure cross- 
pollination ? •• 

7. Name four ways by which plants adapt themselves to 
wind pollination. 

8. Name four ways by which plants adapt themselves to 
pollination by insects. 

9. Define the term fertilization, and trace the steps after 
the pollen grain reaches the stigma. 

10. Tell briefly how you could cross by hand one blossom 
with another. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SEED 

As soon as the sperm cell from the pollen tube and the 
egg cell in the ovule have united as explained in Section 
90, the development of the seed begins. 




Fig. 39. — How food travels from the leaves to the seed. 

92. How the Food is stored in the Seed. — We have 
noted how starch is formed in the green leaves (Sections 

117 



118 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

66 and 67), and how by a process we do not fully under- 
stand, this starch is converted into other food compounds, 
including fats and oils, or how it may in other cases be 
combined with mineral elements from the soil to form 
proteins. 

As the seed develops, it draws this food from other 
parts of the plant and stores it within itself. Around the 
tiny plant which is developing within the seed, is built 
layer after layer of cells stored with starch, sugar, fats 
and proteins. In the accompanying drawing (Figure 
39), the arrows indicate the currents of food moving 
toward the seed where food accumulates. 

93. How Man may thwart Nature's Plan. — It will 
thus be seen that the whole plant is working to pro- 
duce this seed. If, before the seed is fully formed, the 
plant is harvested, much of the food will be retained in the 
leaves and stems since it will not have had time to reach 
the seed, and so these parts Avill be useful as forage for 
animals, or even as food for man. If we want oat hay, we 
cut the crop while it is yet green. On the other hand, 
alfalfa or clover straw, from which the seed has been 
threshed, has Httle food value, and you can readily see 
why this is true. 

Grasses are cut, dried only enough to prevent their 
molding, and then stacked in the field or stored in barns 
that animals may use the food that is stored in their 
leaves and stems. For the same purpose corn plants are 
cut before they are fully mature, and the leaves and stalks 
are chopped together into short, small pieces, which will 
pack solidly into the silo. 

None of us enjoys roasting ears when the kernels are very 
small and consist principally of water; neither do we 
enjoy them when so much food from the leaves has ac- 



FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SEED 119 




Courtesy Iowa State College. 



Fig. 40. — Filling a silo. 



120 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



cumulated in the kernels as to make them hard and 
doughy. 

94. The Forms and Uses of the Various Food Materials 
in the Seed. — As the food accumulates within the seeds, 
part of it assumes the form of grains, or granules, which 
often resemble to some extent minute oyster shells; and 
inclosed in certain parts of some seeds, oil may be seen 
in the form of tiny droplets. A person who has made a 
careful study of the subject can detect adulterations in 







A-SO^-l, 



Courtesy Iowa State College. 



Fig. 41. — A feed lot scene. 



foodstuffs, such as corn meal in wheat or buckwheat flour, 
or ground peas or beans in ground coffee, by the form of 
the starch and protein grains. 

A good stock raiser knows the use of the various kinds 
of food stored in the seeds. He knows that protein builds 
tissue, and must be provided in considerable amounts for 
growing animals and milch cows ; and furthermore, he 
knows that foods containing starch, sugars, or fats and 
oils, yield heat and muscular energy and produce fat if 
fed in excess, — but that they will not build tissue. 

The ration for his growing pigs and milch cows includes 



FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SEED 121 

such feeds as the outer layers of wheat grains, or wheat 
middhngs, or perhaps flaxseed or oil meal, for these are 
rich in proteins, and proteins produce new tissue or milk. 
The ration for the hogs in his fattening pens will consist 
largely of corn, for it is rich in the foods that produce 
fat. His growing calves get a considerable amount of 
such feeds as ground oats, oil meal or wheat middlings 
along with their corn meal ; and even his fattening steers 
get in addition to corn some such protein feed as cotton- 
seed meal. 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 

To propagate plants is to cause them to multiply, 
spread or continue by natural generation or other means, 
as a species or variety. In Nature, we see each plant, 
from the tiny one that causes the mold on bread to the 

gigantic oak of the forest 
producing its seeds or spores 
that the species may be con- 
tinued. 

Man has selected from among 
these wild plants those which 
are adapted to his use and has 
cultivated and improved them 
until it is often with difficulty 
that we recognize the wild 
type from which they came. 
Nor has man been content with only those species 
which he has found growing in his own immediate coun- 
try. He has — and this is especially true of the American 
through the work of the United States Department of 
Agriculture — searched the uttermost parts of the earth 
for new plants and seeds to be introduced into his own 
native land. 




Fig. 42. — The Bismarck apple 
and its wild parents. 



95. How Plants are propagated. — Plants are prop- 
agated in three ways : 

122 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



123 




V. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Fig. 43. — Mr. Frank N. Meyer, an agricultural explorer sent out by the 
United States Department of Agriculture, returning from a successful trip into 
the high mountains of China M'here he has secured new varieties of plants to be 
tried in the United States. 



124 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

First : by spores (minute bodies, which are borne by 
lower plants, such as the puff ball or the corn smut, and 
which correspond to the seed of the higher plants). 

Second : by seed. 

Third : by some part of the parent plant other than the 
seed or spore. 

The beginning point of all plants is the seed or the spore. 
Ever}^ seed contains, as we have seen, a tiny plant, which 
under the proper conditions vnW unfold and expand, be- 
coming more and more complex until it produces flowers 
and finally seeds like the one from which it grew. 

It must not be understood, however, that all higher 
plants in their natural state are propagated entirely by 
seed. The wild strawberry produces runners ; the ■vN'ild 
plum, sprouts or suckers ; and the snap willow loses many 
live branches which serve as cuttings. Many plants have 
wholly or partially lost their ability to produce seed, 
and depend upon bulbs, tubers, etc., to perpetuate the 
species. 

A few of our cultivated plants, such as the seedless 
orange, produce no seed, while almost none of our fruits 
come true to seed. That is to say, the seed of a Jonathan 
apple will not produce a Jonathan tree, nor will a tree 
gro^^Tl fromaBing cherry produce the same kind of cherries. 
IMan must secure some part, as a leaf, a bud, a stem or a 
root of the original tree or vine, or one of these parts from 
a plant which came from the original. All the \anes 
bearing Concord grapes have come in this way from a 
single \dne still gro^^'ing at Concord, ^lassachusetts. 

96. Propagation by Spores. — The plants which are 
propagated by spores are of two classes : 

(1) Those like the ferns, the mosses and the green pond 
scums, all of which contain green coloring matter and can 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



125 




Fig. 44. — Smut on an ear of corn. 



126 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

therefore manufacture their own food. (Section 66 and 
Exercise 30.) 

(2) Those hke the corn smut, the cotton wilt, the wheat 
and oats rust, the potato scab, the apple blight, the mush- 
room and the toadstool. These contain no green coloring 
matter, can not manufacture their own food and must 
therefore draw their nourishment from living or dead plants 
of other kinds. In so doing, they often cause either 
diseases or decay. 

We are familiar with the destructive effect of plant 
diseases and with the rotting of apples and potatoes. 
We must not on this account, however, condemn all 
plants of this second class. Many cause no injury, while 
a multitude of them are beneficial and absolutely essential 
to soil fertihty and plant growth. The bodies of dead 
plants must be broken down into simpler substances. 
This necessary work is done by plants of this class, such 
as molds and bacteria. (Section 5.) 

Place a piece of moist bread in any open, shallow dish 
and set it aside for a few days. The whole surface will 
become covered with common bread mold, a fuzzy growth 
of minute plants, which develop when the spores floating 
through the air fall and germinate upon the surface. 
With a common hand lens, we can see dotted through this 
growth the tiny round black bodies which bear the spores. 
If it were not for the foul smelling gases, coming from the 
decomposing proteins, which these plants set free, we 
could leave the bread in the dish until the simple sub- 
stances which molds invariably produce would alone re- 
main. 

A striking illustration of the way in which the spores of 
these minute disease-producing plants may exist is shown 
in the common loose smut of oats. The smut spores are 
carried with the seed oats from infested fields. When the 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 127 

oats germinate in the soil the following spring, the spores 
germinate also and send slender, thread-like organs up- 
ward in the tissue of the oat stem as it develops. Thus 
we actually have one plant growing at the expense of and 
within the tissues of another. About the time the oat 
begins to flower, these thread-like organs push their way 
into the base of the flower. Here they take the nourish- 
ment which was intended for the seed (Section 92 and 
Exercise 24), prevent its development and develop 
instead a mass of loose, black spores. The loss to farmers 
of the United States in a single year, caused by this smut 
plant, has been over twenty million dollars. We shall 
consider shortly how to prevent the spread of this disease. 

97. How Spores are spread. — As agricultural students, 
we are not particularly interested in the spores of plants 
like the fern and the moss, but the manner in which the 
spores of the disease-producing plants are spread is of 
vital interest to us. The different ways by which spores 
may be spread, or disseminated, may be grouped as 
follows : 

First : on seeds, which are carried from place to place. 
Oat smut, stinking smut of wheat, potato blight, anthrac- 
nose of beans, and many other diseases are spread in this 
way. 

Second : in the soil. The spores of the root rot of cotton, 
potato scab, root rot of the beet, and many others live 
through the winter and spread more or less through the 
soil. 

Third : on dead leaves, steins, roots, weeds and grass. 
Many spores of the disease-producing plants pass their 
winter stages on this kind of material. When the warm 
weather of spring comes on, the spores develop, spread 
and attack growing plants. 

Fourth : by diseased and fallen fruit. The old, withered 
plums, which hang on the trees all winter, harbor the 



128 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

spores of the brown rot of the plum. The apple scab is 
spread from diseased fruit and leaves. 

Fifth : by insects. Insects, which come to attack the 
plants, often bring with them from other plants the spores 
of disease. The first step, then, in the control of such 
diseases is to destroy the insects. 

98. How to prevent the Spread and Growth of the 
Spores of Disease. — (1) Spores on the Seed. — The first 
step in preventing propagation by spores clinging to seeds 
is seed selection. Since many diseases are spread in this 
way, a careful farmer tries to select clean seed from clean 
fields. It is of course impossible to examine each seed of 
the oats or wheat as might be done with potatoes. In 
this case, something must be applied which will kill the 
spores but not the seed. The methods used for the con- 
trol of oat smut will illustrate this. 



EXERCISE 36 

Object. — To learn how to treat oats for loose 
smut. 

Procedure. — Put a peck of oats in the bottom of a 
box. Make a solution of formalin in water by adding 
5 cc. of 40 per cent formalin to 1600 cc. of water. This 
is in the proportion of one pint of formalin to forty gallons 
of water. 

With the hands, sprinkle one quart of this solution 
over the oats in the box and stir them thoroughly with a 
fire shovel or stick so that every kernel will become 
moist. Now cover them with a gunny sack or otherwise 
so as to prevent the escape of the pungent gas which is 
given off by the formalin. After four or five hours, remove 
the cloth and spread the oats out on a floor, table or other 
surface until thoroughly dried. 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



129 



Conclusion. — State carefully in your notebook just 
how you treated this peck of oats to kill any spores of 
smut that might have been on the seed. 

In actual farm practice, the oats are spread on a clean 
floor, a sprinkler is used, the solution is applied at the 
rate of about one gallon to each bushel, and the grain is 
then covered for several hours, after which it is quickly 




Fig. 45. — Treating seed oats for smut. 



but carefully dried. If not sown at once, it must not be 
allowed to heat or freeze. 

In 1906, eight per cent of the oat crop of the United 
States was destroyed by loose smut. At this rate what 
would have been the total reduction in bushels in the yield 
of a thirty-acre field, which produced forty-six bushels 
per acre, but the seed for which was not treated for smut ? 
If the formalin to treat the seed had cost one dollar and 
the oat crop was worth thirty-five cents per bushel, 

K 



130 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

how much would the owner have made by treating his 
seed? 

The scab of potatoes may be controlled in a similar 
way by allowing the seed to remain for two hours in a 
solution of one pint of formalin in thirty gallons of water. 

(2) Spores in the Svil. — Soil, which has become in- 
fested with the spores of such diseases as the potato scab 
or onion smut, should be planted to some other crop for 
several years until the ground becomes free from the spores 
of the disease. Crop rotation, then, becomes an important 
step in disease control as are also thorough drainage and 
deep cultivation. 

(3) Spores on Dead Plants. — Most disease-producing 
plants have two kinds of spores : those which are able to 
withstand the severe cold of winter, called winter spores; 
and others which are produced during the warmer months 
and are called summer spores. These are formed much 
more rapidly than the winter spores but are more easily 
destroyed. Owing to the presence of winter spores, it is 
exceedingly important that all of the preceding year's 
plants in infested fields be destroyed before seeding time 
arrives. The dreaded black rust of wheat has been shown 
to live over the winter on old grass and weeds. Field 
sanitation, then, is an important matter. 

(4) Spores on Diseased and Fallen Fruit. — The winter 
spores are not usually directly responsible for the rapid 
spread of disease on fruit. When a winter spore germi- 
nates, a tiny plant develops. This little plant in turn 
sends up a mass of summer spores, and from these summer 
spores come the plants which really produce disease. 

There are certain chemical mixtures which will destroy 
both winter spores and summer spores when they begin 
to germinate without injury to the plants upon which 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 131 

they are lodged. The principal one of these mixtures, 
which is known as Bordeaux (pronounced bordo), is made 
as follows : 

. EXERCISE 37 

Object. — To learn how to make Bordeaux mixture. 

Procedure. — Dissolve four ounces of blue vitriol in a 
stone jar or wooden bucket — a tin one will be destroyed 
by the vitriol — containing three and one eighth gallons 
of water. 

Place four ounces of fresh unslacked, or stone lime in 
another bucket or jar containing the same amount of 
water. 

When the lime is thoroughly mixed with the water, pour 
the contents of both buckets or jars into a third jar or 
wooden bucket large enough to contain all of it. 

You have now made the standard Bordeaux mixture at 
the rate of four pounds of lime and four pounds of blue 
vitriol to fifty gallons of water. 

If you place a clean, bright knife blade in the blue 
vitriol solution before adding it to the lime mixture, a 
coating of copper will form over its surface. This should 
not occur in the Bordeaux mixture. If even a slight 
copper coating appears when the knife blade is placed in 
it, you should add more lime, as otherwise the mixture 
will ^' burn '' the leaves of your potatoes or apple trees 
when it is applied. 

Conclusion. — By applying this mixture when the buds 
of the apple are just showing pink, the destructive apple 
scab may be controlled. 

If this mixture is applied to potatoes when they are 
about six inches high, and every two weeks thereafter, the 
dry rot, or late blight, will be held in check. In the year 
of 1905, this disease caused a loss of fifty million dollars 
in the state of New York alone. 



132 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



The dreaded black rot of the grape can be controlled 
if Bordeaux mixture is applied when the buds are just 
swelling, again when they unfold, and two or three times 
after this at intervals of about two weeks. 

The most effective means we have of preventing the 




Fig. 46. — The apple scab. 

germination and growth of spores is the Bordeaux mixture. 
It should not be applied during rainy weather ; and for 
stone fruits, such as the cherry, peach and plum, it should 
be used in only half strength. 

By the addition of three pounds of arsenate of lead to 
fifty gallons of Bordeaux mixture, both biting insects and 
diseases can be controlled. 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 133 

99. Conditions which favor the Entrance and Growth 
of Spores. — (1) Unhealthy Condition of the Plant which 
they attack. — Plants that are weakened by drouth or by 
the attacks of insects, or those that have become shaded 
by weeds are more hable 'to be destroyed by disease 
than others. The disease, in other words, makes the 
greatest progress when the plant is in an unhealthy 
condition. 

(2) Moisture. — Moisture favors the growth of spores. 
In low, damp places, in dark, wet cellars, where fruit and 
vegetables are stored, the spores of disease and decay 
thrive. In Section 43 we learned that the greatest enemy 
of stored seeds is moisture. This is partly due to the fact 
that it favors the growth of molds which may eventually 
cause the death of the embryo. 

(3) Darkness. — Direct sunhght will do much to prevent 
the propagation of spores. We therefore destroy weeds, 
leave sufficient space between our plants, and prune our 
trees to let in the sunhght. 

(4) Heat. — Spores spread and grow best in warm 
places. This is why we put fruit and vegetables in cool 
cellars, in cold storage or in the refrigerator. 

(5) Careless Treatment. — By bruising or breaking the 
skin of fruit or vegetables, we may open the way for the 
entrance of spores, and decay will follow. Similarly, by 
careless pruning or cultivating, we may allow the spores 
of disease to gain entrance into living plants. 

100. Propagation by Seed. — The higher plants are 
commonly propagated by seed. However, this means of 
propagation will be considered in detail in the chapters on 
special crops. In Chapters VII and VIII, we have already 
learned essential facts concerning selection, storing and 
germination of seeds. 



134 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



101. Propagation by some Part of the Plant other than 
Seed or Spore. — • The methods of propagation other than 
by seeds or spores may be placed in three groups : 

(1) Plants may be formed while still attached to the 
parent plant. This may be by (a) runners, (6) tip layers, 
(c) layers, or {d) suckers. 

(2) Plants may be formed from portions detached from 
the parent plant. This includes propagation by (a) bulbs, 
(b) tubers, and (c) cuttings. 

(3) Plants may be formed by the union of two plants as 
by (a) budding and (b) grafting. 




Fig. 47. — Runner on a strawberry plant. 



102. Plants formed while still attached to the Parent 
Plant. — Such plants draw nourishment from the parent 
plant until they are able to maintain an independent 
growth. After this, the young plant is usually separated 
from the older one by the death of the part connecting 
the two, though this is not always true of suckers. Some 
plants, such as the strawberry, send out long, prostrate 
stems from which, at either the ends or the nodes, roots 
develop and new plants form. Such a prostrate stem is 
called a runner. 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



135 



The stems of a few plants, such as the black-cap rasp- 
berry, tend to curve toward the ground. Roots will 
form at the tip if it is in close contact with the soil or 




Fig. 48. — Propagating a plant by tip layers. 

covered by it. The new plant thus formed is called a 
tip layer. If the ground is kept free from weeds and the 
soil loose and mellow, the formation of both runners and 
tip layers is favored. 

Plants Hke the grape, the snowball and the rambler 
rose, whose stems do 
not naturally curve 
toward the ground, 
may be layered. This 
is done by bringing a 
stem carefully to the 




■\:Sl''^Sj;' 



^SjgKg3#'-=i£:^'-"-'-"^''i>**«^r: 



Fig. 49. — Propagating a plant by layers. 




ground and holding it 

in place by covering 

it with earth. Roots 

then grow out from 

the buried stem, and the new plant which forms at this 

point is called a layer. 

The roots of many plants send up sprouts which are 
called suckers. Such plants do not develop good root 



136 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

systems, owing in part to their connection with the parent 
plants, and they show a tendency to produce new suckers. 
The red raspberry is propagated entirely by suckers. 

103. Plants formed by Portions which become de- 
tached from Parent Plant. — ^Some plants which are ac- 
customed to long periods of inactivity, for example, 
those in arid regions, or in wet countries subject to 
overflow, lose their power to produce seed and form 
hulhs instead. A bulb is in reahty a very short under- 
ground stem, having leaves closely crowded about it, 
which are filled with nutriment to feed the young plant 
when it begins to grow. 

EXERCISE 38 

Object. — To learn how to care for bulbs and how plants 
are developed from them. 

Procedure. — Secure from some seed house or local 
merchant a dozen or more of each of the following kinds 
of bulbs : paper white narcissus, tulip, Roman hyacinth 
and crocus ; also procure a few bulbs of the Chinese 
sacred Hly. Secure two boxes about two feet long, one 
foot wide and four inches deep. 

Cover the bottom of one of the boxes with one inch of 
rich, fine soil. Over this put one half inch of fine sand. 
Press the bulbs of the Roman hyacinth slightly into the 
sand about two inches apart. Add more fine soil to the 
box until the bulbs are completely covered. Set it 
aside in some convenient part of the room where it 
does not get direct sunhght, and see that the soil does 
not dry out. 

Place the bulbs of the narcissus in the other box in the 
same manner. Instead, however, of keeping the box in 
the room, place it outside in some cool, well-drained and 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 137 

shaded place and cover it with about six inches of soil and 
six inches of leaves. 

Thoroughly spade up the soil in some protected corner 
of the school grounds to a depth of about twelve inches. 
Plant the tulips and crocuses in this bed about four inches 
deep. When cold weather sets in, cover the bed with 
two feet of leaves or hay. 

All of the planting, both in boxes and beds, should be 
done by the first of October. In about six weeks bring 
the box of narcissus bulbs into the room, place it and the 
box of hyacinth bulbs in a warm, sunny window and watch 
the development of leaves and blossoms. 

In the early spring, remove the leaves or hay from the 
bed of tulips and crocuses. 

If desired, the bulbs of the Chinese sacred Hly and some 
of those of the narcissus may be placed in glass dishes 
containing water and enough clean stones to hold the bulbs 
erect. The development of the roots may then be studied 
as well as that of stems, leaves and flowers. 

Conclusion. — Only the roots developed while the bulbs 
were kept out of the sun by deep covering or otherwise. 
What started the development of the leaves and blossoms ? 
Tell briefly how to have flowers from Thanksgiving until 
Easter. 

Why may not this exercise be the beginning of an effort 
to make the school grounds more attractive and beautiful 
by a general plan of landscape gardening, which should 
include the planting of shade trees and hardy shrubs as 
well as bulbs? 

Tubers. — A tuber is a short, thickened, underground 
stem. Buds form on these stems just as on any others 
though we ordinarily speak of these buds as " eyes." 
Such plants as the potato, dahha and others are propa- 



138 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



gated by planting the tuber whole or by planting pieces 
of it'. The young plant is developed from the bud, and, of 
course, if a piece should have no buds, or eyes, it will not 
grow. 

Cuttings. — Such plants as the willow, poplar, grape 

vine, spiraea and 
bridal wreath may 
be propagated in the 
following manner : 

Secure in the late 
autumn some fresh, 
firm young twigs 
of the same season's 
growth. Cut them 
into pieces about six 
inches in length and 
store them in the 
ground as you did 
the tulip and crocus 
bulbs in the last ex- 
ercise. In the spring, 
at garden planting 
time, set these cut- 
tings out in rows, 
leaving only one or 
two buds above the 
surface of the 
ground. 




Fig. 50. — Cuttings of various kinds of 

wood. 



104. Plants formed by the Union of Two Plants. — 

None of our choice varieties of fruit come true to seed. 
This is a fact of vital consequence in fruit culture. We 
can not reproduce a desirable variety of fruit by planting 
the seed. Furthermore, not many of our fruit trees can 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 139 

be propagated by cuttings. Hence the necessity of the 
third method commonly practiced, — that of uniting two 
plants. 

A bud or twig of the variety desired is united with a root 
grown from a seed, called a seedling root, so that the two 
grow together, forming a single plant. The upper part of 
the tree so formed will then bear the desired variety of 
fruit. 

If a twig and root are caused to unite in this way, the 
process is known as grafting, the root being referred to as 
the stock while the twig is known as the don. If a bud 
is inserted in the stem and allowed to develop until it 
becomes a part or all of the top, the process is known as 
budding. 

EXERCISE 39 

to 

Object. — To learn how to propagate plants by 
grafting. 

Procedure. — ■ Procure from some nursery company 
as many apple seedling roots, or stocks, as you wish to 
make grafts. Gather some fresh, firm twigs of last season's 
growth from the apple tree you wish to propagate. 

Provide strips of old mushn or cahco, which has been 
dipped in a hot wax made as follows : Melt together in an 
old pan or other dish resin, 4 parts ; beeswax, 2 parts ; 
and tallow, 1 part. After the cloth has cooled, tear it 
into strips about one eighth of an inch wide and six inches 
or more in length. 

The cion and stock to be joined together should be 
equal in diameter and small. The former should be cut 
back to a length of five or six inches if it is longer than this. 
Both should be cut off obliquely, the bevel, as well as the 
length of the cut, being the same on the two pieces. Each 
should now be spht at a point near the middle, the spUt, 



140 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



however, extending but a short distance back from the 
bevel surface. When this is done, it will be found that 
the two pieces will fit together in the manner shown in 
Figure 51. 

Care must be taken that the cambium layers (Section 
81) of the two pieces coincide, as otherwise they will 
not grow together. If, however, the two pieces are of the 
same size, and if the bark of each joins the other perfectly, 
the cambium layers are quite certain to be in contact. 

About the joint, or 
spHce, wrap enough 
of the waxed cloth to 
hold the two pieces 
firmly together. 

This work should 
be done in winter ; 
and when it is finished, 
the grafted plants 
hMinw should be stored in 
sand outside the 
schoolroom and cov- 
ered with about a foot 
of st r aw, hay or 
leaves. In the spring 
at garden planting 
time they should be removed and set in the open 
ground. 

Conclusion. — This graft is called the whip graft. Tell 
in your notebook just how it is made or make a drawing 
to illustrate it. 




J 



Fig. 51. — The whip graft. 



It must not be understood from the above that all roots 
and twigs will unite regardless of kind, or species. Only 
members of the same family will unite, and these will not 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 141 

always do so. Among the stone fruits, the plum will 
unite with the peach, or either of these will unite with 
the apricot. Among the fruits which form seeds, as the 
apple, the quince will unite with the pear. The apple 
will unite with crabapple and with the different varieties 
of large apples, but it is only in very rare cases that it 
will unite with any other plant than these. 

Grafting may be done on mature trees as well as on 
young ones but we use a different graft. This will be 
shown in the next exercise. 

EXERCISE 40 

Object. — To show how the character of a grown tree 
may be changed, or how several varieties of fruit may be 
grown on the same tree. 

Procedure. — Secure a smooth, straight piece of the limb 
of an apple tree about the size of a broom stick and from 
eight to ten inches in length ; some twigs from bearing 
apple trees, such as were used in Exercise 39 ; and a ball 
of the wax used in that exercise. Before this wax is 
handled, the hands should be rubbed with tallow to pre- 
vent the wax from sticking to them. 

Split the end of the limb down about one and one half 
inches, using a piece of wood as a mallet and a knife blade 
as a chisel. Cut two of the twigs to a length of about six 
inches and wedge-shaped at the larger end. Thrust one 
of these sharpened twigs into either side of the cleft in 
the larger piece, making sure that the outside of the limb 
and the outside of the twig are flush, or even. Cover the 
wound and exposed parts with wax so that neither water 
nor fungi can enter and cause rot. 

Conclusion. ■ — Describe in your own words just how this 
graft is made, or make a drawing that will show it clearly. 



142 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Small twigs can be grafted upon the larger limbs of 
trees in this way, and the twigs and branches will unite, 
the joint becoming quite smooth. In fact, this graft is 
often used on mature trees to grow a different variety or 
perhaps several varieties of fruit upon the same tree. 
This work should be done in the spring just as 
the tree resumes its growth. Each one of us can 
make a graft of this kind upon a tree at home. 

The stone fruits, such as the cherry, plum and 
peach, do not produce roots suitable for grafting. 
Moreover, the gum which comes out on the cut 
interferes with this method of propagation. We 
propagate these trees, then, not by grafting but 
by budding. The seed of one, say a peach, is 
planted, and when it is a few months old, a 
single bud taken from the tree which we wish 

to propagate is put into the 
stem or trunk, in the manner 
shown in the next exercise. 



EXERCISE 41 

Object. — To learn how 
plants are propagated by bud- 
ding. 

Procedure. — Procure some 
fresh twigs of an apple or peach 
tree, a sharp pocket knife and 
some common wrapping cord. 
Place the twigs in water for twenty-four hours in order 
to make the bark slip easily. If this work is done in the 
spring, soon after the leaves have expanded, the twigs 
may be used as soon as gathered. Cut the cord into pieces 
from eight to ten inches in length. 




A B 

Fig. 52. — The cleft graft. 



THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



143 



Take one of the twigs, and with your knife make a cut 
through the bark on one side directly across the grain of 
the wood. Next make a cut through the bark downward 
from the center of the one already made so that the two 
will form a letter T. 

Remove a plump bud with a httle of the bark from 
another twig and insert it in the first twig where the cuts 





■V • . - 



Fig. 53. — How the bud is inserted. The top is removed after the 

wound has healed. 



have been made. In doing this, Uft the bark of the t\vig 
on both sides of the downward cut, and thrust the little 
piece of bark to which the bud is attached underneath, 
leaving no part of the bark exposed. Now press the bark 
of the twig firmly down over the inserted bud by wrapping 
the twig with string above and below, but not directly 
across the bud. 

If the leaves have expanded, this exercise may be per- 
formed out of doors upon trees of plum, peach, apple, 
or any shade or forest trees. 



144 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Conclusion. — Briefly, this is the story of a '^ budded " 
peach tree, — and all peach orchards consist of budded 
trees : 

A peach pit or seed was planted and allowed to grow 
one season. Near the close of the growing season, perhaps 
in the latter part of August, a bud from a tree bearing the 
desired variety of peaches was inserted in the trunk of the 
seedhng near the surface of the ground just as you have 
inserted the bud in the twig above. During the follow- 
ing ten days or two weeks, the httle bud grew rapidly. 
The string was then removed. Nothing further was done 
until the following spring, when the top of the seedhng was 
removed and the inserted bud became a twig, and finally, 
a new top. This was allowed to grow where it stood for 
another year and was then transplanted to the orchard. 

Suppose you had a plum tree of a choice variety and 
wished to propagate it in order that you might have a 
number of trees of the same kind. Tell in your note- 
book exactly how you would do it. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Define the term propagation. 

2. Name three ways by which plants are propagated. 

3. How do plants, which contain no green coloring matter, 
obtain their food ? What do they cause ? 

4. Name five ways by which spores that cause disease are 
spread. 

5. Tell how to treat seed oats for smut. 

6. Name five conditions which favor the entrance and 
growth of spores. 

7. Tell briefly how to secure flowers from bulbs from Thanks- 
giving until Easter. 

8. Tell briefly how to propagate apple trees, using the whip 
graft. 

9. Tell the story of a peach tree from the time the seed is 
planted until the tree is set in the orchard. 



CHAPTER XV 

WHY' MAN CULTIVATES PLANTS 

There are about two hundred thousand known species 
of plants in the world. When we compare this vast num- 
ber with the few that man has chosen to cultivate, we are 
led to ask : Why are these few useful to him, and what part 
or parts of them are deemed so desirable that he is wiUing 
to labor dihgently and patiently often for months or even 
for years in order to secure them? 

105. Classes of Plants according to the Parts for which 
they are cultivated. — We may classify plants roughly 
according to the portions from which the useful parts 
come. Most of those that are cultivated by man may be 
grouped under five heads as shown in the outhne below : 

/. Plants cultivated for their Grains which furnish Food 
for Man and Domestic Animals. — These plants include : 

(1) Corn. 

(This crop will be studied in Chapter XVI.) 

(2) Wheat. 

(3) Oats. 

(4) Barley. 

(5) Rye. 

(6) Rice. 

(These crops will be studied in Chapter XVIL) 

77. Plants grown for Forage and Pasture for Domestic 
Animals, the Useful Part coming from the Stems and 
I. 145 



146 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Leaves. — Some of these plants are also used for lawns. 
They include : 

(1) Grasses. 

(a) Wild Grasses. 
(6) Timothy, 
(c) Redtop. 
{d) Brome Grass. 
{e) Blue Grass. 
(These will be studied in Chapter XVIII.) 

(2) Clovers, or Legumes. 

(a) Alfalfa. 
(6) Red Clover, 
(c) Alsike Clover. 
{d) White Clover, 
(e) Sweet Clover. 
(/) Field Peas. 
{g) Cow Peas. 
Qi) Soy Beans. 
(These will be studied in Chapter XIX.) 

///. Plants cultivated for the Fiber, which is found 
either in the Stems or in the form of Lint on the Seeds. — 
These plants may also yield food and oil. They include : 

(1) Cotton. 

(2) Flax. 

(3) Hemp. 

(These plants will be studied in Chapter XX.) 

IV. Plants cultivated for their Fruits. — These plants 
include : 

(1) Seed, or Pome Fruits, 

(a) Apples. 

(6) Pears, 

(c) Quinces. 



WHY MAN CULTIVATES PLANTS 147 

(2) Stone, or Prune Fruits. 

(a) Cherries. 

(b) Peaches. 

(c) Plums. 

(d) Prunes. 

(e) Apricots. 

(3) Grapes. 

(4) Small Fruits. 

(a) Strawberries. 
(6) Raspberries. 

(c) Blackberries and Dewberries. 

(d) Currants. 

(e) Gooseberries. 

(5) Citrus Fruits. 

(a) Oranges. 
(6) Lemons. 
(c) Grapefruit. 
(We shall study these fruits in Chapter XXL) 

V. Plants known as Vegetables, which are cultivated for 
their Leaves, Seeds, Fruits and Underground Parts. — 

(1) For the Leaves. 

(a) Lettuce. 

(b) Cabbage. 

(c) Spinach. 

(d) Celery. 

(2) For the Seeds. 

(a) Peas. 

(6) Beans. 

(c) Corn (Sweet). 

(3) For their Fruits. 

(a) Tomatoes. 
(6) Melons. 

(c) Pumpkins and Squashes. 

(d) Cucumbers. 



148 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

(4) For the Underground Parts. 

(a) Potatoes. 

(b) Sweet Potatoes. 

(c) Onions. 

(d) Carrots. 

(e) Beets. 
(/) Turnips. 
(g) Parsnips. 
(h) Radishes. 

(These plants will be studied briefly in Chapter XXII.) 



CHAPTER XVI 
CORN 

The leading cereal crop of the United States is Indian 
corn. It was cultivated in a rude way by the Indians 
long before the white man dreamed of such a country as 
America. The earliest settlers recognized its value and 
at once commenced to raise it. Forests have been cut 
down to make room for fields of it ; and swamps and low- 
lands have been drained that its production might be in- 
creased. If the corn fields of the United States were 
placed together, they would cover entirely the states of 
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, with many large fields 
remaining. 

106. Uses of Corn. — Corn is used in four rather distinct 
ways : 

(1) As a grain ration for domestic animals. 

(2) As fodder, or roughage, for domestic animals. 

(3) As food for man. 

(4) In manufactured products. 

As the grain, with which to fatten the animals that con- 
stitute our meat supply, corn stands practically alone. 

If the corn plants, both stalks and ears, are cut while the 
leaves are still green and the kernels, are just becoming 
hard, they make an excellent rough forage for domestic 
animals, 

149 



150 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Corn is used in a 
variety of forms for 
human food, as corn 
meal, hominy, break- 
fast foods, canned 
corn, roasting ears, 
etc. 

The number of 
manufactured prod- 
ucts made from corn 
is increasing year by 
year. Among them 
are glucose, corn sirup, 
corn starch, oil, gum, 
rubber substitutes 
and alcoholic prod- 
ucts. 

107. Distribution 
of Corn. — Corn is a 
native of Mexico. 
When we study its 
habits and require- 
ments carefully, we 
shall see that it still 
retains many of its 
subtropical character- 
istics although the 
plant has pushed its 
way steadily north- 
T? c^ A 1 1 uii f ward even into 

Fig. 54. — An ideal hill of corn. 

Canada. 
Corn is grown throughout the southern states. It is 
succeeding in New England. Minnesota and North 




CORN 



151 



Dakota are producing surprising yields. The cultivation 
of the crop is extending into the western states where it 
was formerly thought that the corn plant would not 
thrive. " It may be in fact that the time will come when 
we shall quit talking about a corn belt as though corn were 

something that could be 
grown only in a limited sec- 
tion from east to west, and 
that corn will be grown in 
every section where farming 
is possible." ^ 

The corn belt, just referred 
to, includes the states or parts 
of states where the produc- 
tion of corn is now largely 
centralized ; viz., Ohio, In- 
diana, Illinois, Iowa, southern 
Minnesota, the eastern parts 
of South Dakota, Nebraska 
and Kansas, and the northern 
part of Missouri. 



frS' ■= 



S:rP§Li 



■§^>^ 



i>S_" 



lAC 



,5r _^r^^A^tr 



S'S^^^A 



'•V 



^^- 



Fig. 55. — 
An ear of dent 
corn. 



108. How the Corn Plant 
has changed as it has moved 
Northward. — In the South, 
if the soil conditions are 
favorable, the stalks are tall 
and massive, the ears are 



Fig. 56. — 
An ear of flint 
corn. 



large, and the kernels are large and deep with much white 
starch, while the dent on the crown of each one may be so 
deep that its sides become pinched together. As we go 
northward, we find the stalks becoming smaller and less 



1 Wallace's Farmer, January 21, 1915. 



152 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

woody, and the ears likewise smaller, while the kernels 
are shorter, more flinty and less deeply dented, until 
at last we encounter the characteristic flint corn of the 
northern regions. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the corn plant has 
adapted itself in a truly marvelous way to grow in a wide 
range of climate, it is still extremely sensitive to even 
slight changes in climatic conditions. Thus we frequently 
find that if the seed is sent or taken to a distance no greater 
than forty or fifty miles from the locality where it was 
grown, it will not produce at all well for a year or two, 
or until it has had time to adapt itself to the new climatic 
conditions. Corn growers are for this reason extremely 
cautious about procuring seed from other localities than 
their own. We may truthfully say that there is not only 
a corn for each climate but for every locality as well. 

109. Climatic Requirements of the Corn Plant. — Cer- 
tain climatic conditions are necessary to the best growth 
of corn wherever it is cultivated. 

The soil must be warm when the seed is planted and it 
should remain warm thereafter. While the growing season 
may vary in length, the average temperature of both day 
and night must be high. 

While the seed is germinating, and the plants are yet 
small, much wet weather is detrimental. It makes the 
ground cold, excludes oxygen, and the stand may be poor 
owing to the rotting of the seed. If the seeds germinate 
under this condition, the little plants form shallow root 
systems and so become unable to make a vigorous growth 
or to withstand dry weather. Wet weather, moreover, 
interferes with cultivation and allows weeds to become 
established. 

The months of July and August represent the critical 



CORN 



153 



period in the life of the corn plant as regards weather con- 
ditions. The rapidity of growth at this time as compared 
with that of other plants is amazing ; and because of this, 




Fig. 57. — Cornfield scene. 



it needs very much water. Frequent warm rains at this 
time are exceedingly important in determining the yield 
of the crop. 



154 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

As the ears become well developed, the supply of mois- 
ture should diminish. This, too, is a matter of importance 
since continued rains after this time prolong the season of 
growth. In wet seasons, therefore, the crop is frequently 
injured by early autumn frosts. 

110. Soil Requirements of the Corn Plant. — Corn 

requires a fertile, well-drained soil, containing a large 
amount of humus. Owing to its vigorous growth, it 
demands large amounts of the essential elements mentioned 
in Section 7. Nitrogen, in particular, is rapidly removed 
by it from the soil. Unless some means of renewing the 
supply of nitrogen is provided, the yields of the succeeding 
crops gradually decrease. In fact, we may say that the 
rainfall of July and August and the supply of nitrogen in 
the soil are the two factors which commonly influence the 
production of the corn crop throughout the Corn Belt. 

111. The Production of Corn. — The production of 
corn may be studied under eight important heads : 

(1) Selection of the Seed. 

(2) Storage of the Seed. 

(3) Testing the Seed. 

(4) Grading the Seed. 

(5) Preparing the Seed Bed. 

(6) Planting the Seed. 

(7) Cultivation of the Crop. 

(8) Harvesting the Crop. 

112. Selection of the Seed. — In Chapter VII, and 
particularly in Exercise 18, we learned some of the im- 
portant points to look for in an ear of corn and in the stalk 
which bore it. We must now take up a more critical 
study of the ear which we wish to use for seed. 



CORN 155 

We shall doubtless be surprised that there are so many 
ways in which ears of corn may differ, and that so many 
points must be considered in the selection of those that 
are to be used as seed. 

In general, the selection of seed corn is a process of 
elimination, or casting out of the unfit ; and we may reject 
an ear either because of some condition indicating impaired 
vitality or because it shows one or more characteristics 
which we deem undesirable and do not wish to perpetuate. 
In the selection of seed corn, then, we generally consider : 

First : the soundness and maturity of the ear. 

Second : the characteristics of the ear as a whole. 

Third : the characteristics of the kernels. 

The three exercises which follow, if carefully performed, 
will make clear the points for which one should look 
when seeking a seed ear of corn. 

EXERCISE 42 

Object. — To learn how to recognize immaturity and 
unsoundness in an ear of corn. 

Procedure. — Select from any crib or field eight ears of 
corn as directed below. Do not break any ear, nor remove 
more kernels than necessary in order to determine with 
certainty its condition. 

(1) An ear whose kernels are mouldy at the cob. 
Mouldy kernels usually indicate dead germs or embryos. 

Such an ear is, of course, of no value as a seed ear. (Sec- 
tion 99.) 

(2) An ear whose kernels are so loose on the cob as to 
rattle when the ball of the thumb is drawn lightly along 
the row. 

This condition is called chaffiness, and is due to im- 
maturity. Kernels from such ears may sprout, but they 
will produce weak seedlings. 



156 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



(3) An ear too heavy for its size arid easily twisted, 
owing to the presence of excessive moisture. 

This is called sap- 
piness. When such 
seed is stored, we 
know what an enemy 
this moisture will be- 
come. (Sections 35 
and 43.) 

(4) An ear showing 
blistered germs. 

This again indi- 
cates immaturity and 
makes its vitality 
questionable. 

(5) An ear showing 
discolored germs, 
varying from yellow 
to black, when the 

seedcoat is opened with a knife blade. 

Such discoloration is an indication of a weakened or 
dead germ. 




Fig. 58. — • Mouldy corn. 




Fig. 59. — A chaffy ear. 

(6) An ear showing either at the crowns of its kernels or 
down their backs a white color in patches. 




CORN 157 

This is called starchiness and usually, though not always, 
indicates immaturity. A small amount of starchiness is 
allowable at times, but much is to be avoided. 

(7) An ear whose kernels are blistered elsewhere than 
on their germs. 

This again is a sign of 
immaturity even more seri- 
ous than blistered germs. 

(8) An ear which is firm 

and dry, and which shows ^^^«- 60. — Kernels with blistered 
^ ' ... germs. 

none of those indications of 

immaturity or unsoundness named in the preceding 

paragraphs. 

Such an ear may be regarded as sound and mature. 

Conclusion. — Write in your notebook the points which 
you have studied in connection with immaturity and un- 
soundness, and tell precisely what each condition indicates. 

EXERCISE 43 

Object. — To learn to recognize the desirable and un- 
desirable characteristics of an ear of corn which we wish 
to use for seed. 

Procedure. — Select and bring to the schoolroom thir- 
teen ears of corn, each of which is sound and mature and 
shows vitality. No ear may be considered in this exercise 
or for seed "purposes at any time which shows any evidence 
of low vitality. 

In addition to the foregoing, each of these ears must 
show either a desirable or an undesirable characteristic 
as required below. Those which illustrate desirable charac- 
teristics are given first and in italics. Note carefully 
the reasons given for the desirabihty or the undesirability 
of the respective ears. 



158 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Size of Ear 

(1) An ear between eight and ten inches in length. Its 
circumference should be about three fourths of its length, 

the measurement being 
taken one third of the 
distance from butt to tip. 
(1) An ear more than 
eleven inches long and an- 
other less than seven. 

The best corn breeders 
and growers do not now 
try to raise lai^ge ears of 
corn as has been com- 
monly done in the past. 
It has been found that 
the size of ear which can 
safely be raised in any 
locality depends very 
largely upon the length of 
the growing season. The 
longer the growing season, 
the more time the plant 
has to manufacture food, 
and the larger the ear 
will probably be. There- 
fore ears in the South are 
of greater average size than those in the North, provided 
both are raised under like soil conditions. In Iowa and 
Illinois, the two leading corn states, the dimensions given 
first above are considered to be about right. It is clear, 
however, that in states farther south the standard of size 
should be somewhat greater. 




Fig. 61. — An ear of desirable size. 



CORN 



159 



SHAPE OF EAR 



(2) An ear nearly cylindrical, but very slightly tapering, 
and having straight rows from hutt to tip. This ear must be 
full in the middle and of the desirable size given in (1). 





Fig. 62. — An ear of desirable size 
and shape. 



Fig. 63. — An ear of desirable size 
and shape, having a desirable butt. 



(2) An ear in the form of a cyhnder about two thirds 
of its length, then sharply tapering ; another sharply 
tapering from butt to tip ; and still another with extremely 
crooked rows. 

The kernels are more uniform in both size and shape in 
the nearly cylindrical ear, and also in those ears whose 



160 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



rows are straight than in other ears. This is important 
for the reason that uniform kernels drop evenly from the 
planter, thus insuring a uniform stand. 



THE BUTT 

(3) An ear whose butt is covered with kernels of nearly 
the same shape and size as those of the body of the ear. 

These kernels should be 
uniformly arranged and 
fit closely about the shank. 
This ear should be of the 
desirable size given in (1) 
and of the desirable shape 
given in (2) , since it repre- 
sents simply another step 
toward the ideal ear which 
we hope at last to find. 

(3) An ear whose butt 
is covered with irregular 
or ''blocky" kernels which 
do not fit closely about the 
shank. 

A butt of the desirable 
kind described in (3) in- 
sures greater uniformity in 
the size and shape of the 
kernels of the ear, the 
importance of which has 
already been stated. 
Moreover, in a butt of 
this description there is 
less waste space between the kernels both because of 
the greater uniformity of kernels in size and shape and 
because of their close arrangement about the shank. 




Fig. 64. — An ear of desirable 
size and shape, having a desirable 
butt and tip. 



CORN 



161 



This in turn increases the proportion of corn to cob, the 
shelling percentage. 



THE TIP 



(4) An ear whose tip is completely covered, or whose 
cob is only slightly exposed between the kernels. Most of the 




Fig. 65. — Improving step by step. 

kernels about the tip should be dented and rather deep. 
This ear should be of the desirable size given in (i), the 
desirable shape given in {2), and it should have as nearly 
as possible the desirable butt given in {3) . 

(4) An ear whose cob is exposed for half an inch or more 
at the tip, and surrounded by round or shot-shaped 
kernels. 



162 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



The desirable tip insures greater uniformity in size and 
shape of kernels and also a higher shelling percentage. 

DEPRESSIONS IN THE ROWS 

(5) An ear whose rows show no depressions throughout 
their length. This ear should be of the desirable size and 
shape given in {1) and {2), and it should have as nearly 
as possible the desirable butt and tip described in {3) and 

W). 

(5) An ear whose rows show numerous depressions. 
Depressions in rows are another cause of non-uniformity 
in size and shape of kernels, which we are seeking to 
avoid. 

Conclusion. — State carefully in your notebook the 
points that are regarded as desirable in an ear of seed corn 
and give reasons. Name the undesirable characteristics. 



EXERCISE 44 

Object. — To learn to recognize the 
desirable and undesirable characteris- 
■--^ tics of the kernels of a seed ear. 

Procedure. — Select ten ears of corn 

whose kernels show the desirable and 

- -'= undesirable characteristics named be- 

LA-X-i- . .'.^d low. Again the desirable characters 

are in italics. 

Since the kernels must be examined 
Fig. 66. — The parts carefully, it is necessary to remove two 

of a corn kernel. , i p -, i ^ • i 

or three irom each ear about midway 
h, "the ^p^iumufeT"ci between the butt and tip. After this, 
the germ ; d, the hy- keep each ear, together with the kernels 

pocotyl, also called i • i c •, j. r j.u 

the radicle ; e, the which Came irom it, separate irom the 
tip cap. other samples. 




CORN 



163 




SHAPE OF KERNELS 

(1) An ear most of whose kernels are keystone-shaped; 
that is, slightly wider at the crown than at the base. They 
should be of only medium 
depth and average about six 
to the inch in the row. This 
ear, as well as all others re- 
quired in this exercise, must 
be sound and mature and 
show vitaUty; and if pos- 
sible, or as nearly as possible, it should possess all the 
desirable characteristics brought out in Exercise 43. 

(1) An ear whose kernels are very shallow and nearly 
square, that is, practically as wide at the base as at the 
crown; also one whose kernels are sharp and pointed; 
another, whose kernels are very deep but about equally 
wide at base and crown ; and still another with " shoepeg " 



Fig. 67. 



Kernels of 
shape. 



keystone 




Square. 



Pointed. Rectangular. Shoepeg. 

Fig. 68. — Kernels of undesirable shapes. 



Round. 



kernels, that is, kernels which are unusually narrow and 
very deep. 

As will be seen by the illustrations, kernels of keystone 
shape fit one against the other without unnecessary loss 
of space between them or between the rows at either top 
or bottom. This means that the shelling percentage is 
high. 

The depth of the kernel, like the size of the ear, depends 
as a rule upon the length of the growing season. The 
shorter the growing season, the shallower the kernels. 



164 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

In Missouri, for instance, it is safe to grow a type of corn 
with a deep kernel, while one of only medium depth can 
be safely grown in Minnesota. 

Very shallow and nearly square kernels mean a low 
shelling percentage. If square blocks, for example, are 
placed around a circle, their tops are slightly pulled apart. 
Square kernels about a round cob will be separated at the 
top in the same way, causing a loss of space between the 
rows. Moreover, since the kernels themselves are shallow, 
the proportion of kernel to cob is still further reduced. 

If the kernels are sharp and pointed, there will be waste 
space at the base both between the rows and between the 
kernels in the row. If the kernels are very deep and 
equally wide at base and crown, (1) they are liable to be 
starchy, owing to immaturity, which in turn is due to the 
long growing season required ; also (2) there is waste 
space between the rows at the crown, just as in the case 
of square kernels. 

When the kernels are " shoepeg " in shape, there is 
again a loss of space between the rows and a poor develop- 
ment of germs. Moreover, because of their depth, there 
is a strong tendency to starchiness due to immaturity. 

SIZE OF GERM 

(2) An ear whose kernels have germs which are large and 
thick. This ear should have if possible, or so far as possible, 
all desirable characters given up to this time. 




Fig. 69, — Kernels with large germs. 



CORN 



165 



(2) An ear whose germs are unusually small. 

Large germs are considered desirable, owing to the fact 
that they are rich in oil and protein and therefore high in 
feeding value. 




Fig. 70. — Kernels with small germs. 
PURITY OF KERNELS 

(3) An ear having 7io mixed kernels. This ear should 
have as nearly as possible all the desirable characters 
hitherto studied. If the ear which was used in (2) of 
this exercise has no mixed kernels, it may be used 
here. 

(3) A yellow ear, having one or more mixed kernels ; 
also a white ear, having one or more mixed kernels. 

A mixed kernel on 
a yellow ear is known 
by the fact that its 
upper half shows the 
pure white of ordi- 
nary white corn. On 
the other hand, a 
mixed kernel on a 
white ear is known 





onHijf'^siiPrafl 




» 



Fig. 71. — An ear showing mixed kernels. 



by the fact that its lower half shows the yellow of 
ordinary yellow corn. By looking closely, this last may 
be seen between the rows of a white ear if mixed kernels 
are present. 

Mixed kernels show that pollen from another variety of 
corn has fertilized certain kernels on the ear, that is, they 



166 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

indicate a crossing of varieties. For this reason, an ear 
showing mixed kernels, Hke one showing evidence of 
impaired vitahty, must be barred from all judging contests 
of seed corn. 

We must not understand that the variegated kernels of 
such varieties of corn as the " caHco " are mixed kernels 
in the above sense. 

Conclusion. — List carefully and fully in your notebook 
the desirable characters of a kernel of corn and give your 
reasons. List also the undesirable characters and tell 
why they are undesirable. Go over in your mind again 
and again the important points already given — fifteen in 
all — under (1) Soundness and Maturity, (2) The Ear 
and (3) The Kernel, that you may think of them in 
logical order while selecting and judging the ears to be used 
in the next exercise. 

Can you rank these fifteen points in order of impor- 
tance, giving good reasons for placing them as you do? 

EXERCISE 45 

Object. — To find and award a blue ribbon to a prize- 
winning ear. 

Procedure. — Select and bring to the schoolroom an 
ear which approaches the ideal as nearly as possible. This 
ear should be taken from among those which you selected 
and stored away for this purpose some time ago as required 
in Section 41, unless you are able to find a better one else- 
where. 

Bring it securely wrapped in paper so that other mem- 
bers of the class may not know to whom it belongs. Leave 
it with the teacher, who will attach to it a numbered tag 
and keep a record of the owners of all ears entered in this 
way in the contest. 

Remember that this ear must be sound and mature, 



CORN 



167 



showing no evidence whatever of impaired or doubtful 
vitahty and that it must be free from mixed kernels. 

The ears should be laid on a table, two or three kernels 
removed from each one, and kernels and ears placed side 
by side, — some of the kernels being laid with the germs 
up and the remainder with the germs down. After 
this, they should not be shifted to other positions, or the 
ears and kernels will become separated. 

The entire class will now act as judges, and will proceed 
as follows : 

Begin by ranking all the ears according to size, as this 
was the first point studied in connection with the ear. 
By ranking, we mean deciding which one is best, or should 
rank first, as regards the point which is being considered, 
which one should rank second, which one third, and so on 
through the entire class of ears. If all of the ears, however, 
prove to be of the right size, as is frequently the case, this 
point may be omitted ; or if two or more are equally good 
in this or any other point, give them the sarne rank. 
Record the ranks given the respective ears in each point 
in the manner shown below : 





Ear 


Ear 


Ear 


Ear 


Ear 


Ear 




No. 1 


No. 2 


No. 3 


No. 4 


No. 5 


No. 6 


Size 


3 


1 


2 


1 

6 


5 


4 


Shape 


1 


3 


5 


2 


6 


4 


Butt 


5 


4 


1 


3 


2 


6 


Tip 


2 


5 


6 


4 


3 


1 


Depressions in Rows 


3 


6 


2 


1 


4 


5 


Shape and Size of 














Kernels 


6 


3 


2 


1 


4 


5 


Size of Germs .... 


2 


3 


6 


1 


4 


5 




22 


25 


24 


18 


28 


30 



168 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Note that the above record, which was for a class of 
only six ears, means that, as regards size, ear No. 2 ranked 
first, No. 3 ranked second, No. 1, third, No. 6, fourth. 
No. 5, fifth and No. 4, sixth. As regards shape, however, 
the rank was very different. No. 1 ranking first. No. 4, 
second, and so on. 

Remember that only one point is to be considered 
at a time and the rank of all the ears in this one point is to 
be recorded before another point is taken up. The ears 
should not be handled while this judging is being done. - 

You may find it somewhat difficult to judge the ears in 
regard to some one point, especially if there is a large 
number of ears instead of merely six as in the case above. 
If you have trouble of this kind, search out the poorest 
one and rank it lowest on your record ; then find the 
poorest one of those still remaining, ranking it next lowest, 
and so on until all are placed. In this way, you \vill find 
the ranking of the ears on any given point quite a simple 
matter. 

When the ears have been ranked on all the points, add 
the columns in the manner shown above to find the total 
score of each ear. 

The one with the lowest, or smallest, total score wins first 
place in the contest; for in order to get the lowest score, 
the numbers in its column must be smaller than those in 
other columns, thus denoting higher average rank. The 
ear with the next lowest score takes second place in the 
contest, etc. 

The judging of these ears should be done without 
assistance from any one else. Indeed, you should make 
it a point not to compare notes with others. 

When you have made the final placing of all ears accord- 
ing to their total scores, write the result on a slip of paper, 
stating which ear is given first place, which one second 



CORN 



169 



place, and so on through the list. Then sign your name 
to the sHp and hand it to the teacher, who will make the 
final decision as to how the ears should rank in the contest. 
Remember that there is abundant room for difference of 
opinion in this judging, as well as in any other, but that 
there is no ground for 
offense on the part of 
any one. It is 77iuch 
more important that 
you should be able to 
judge accurately, rec- 
ognizing arid naming 
the ears that are really 
best in the class, than 
that your own speci- 
men should win the 
contest. 

A blue ribbon should 
be attached to the best 
ear, a red ribbon to 
the next best and a 
white ribbon to the 
third best. 

Conclusion. — Hang 
the prize-winning ears 
in some convenient 
place in the school- 
room where they may be seen by visitors. Write a 
criticism of these three ears, stating in what respects each 
one is particularly good and in what respects it is poor. 

113. The Selection of the Seed Supply. — Nature allows 
for a prodigal waste of seed each j^ear. On the other hand, 
the careful farmer is anxious to have every seed he selects 




Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Fig. 72. — A grand champion ear. 



170 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



for planting capable of germination. Several different 
methods of selecting a supply of seed for the ensuing 
year's crop are used throughout the leading corn states. 
Among those commonly practiced are the four given below : 
(1) The farmer may go into his fields before the first 
killing frost of autumn and gather the seed ears in a sack 
or basket. The advantages of this method are : 




Fig. 73. — Boys gathering seed corn. 



(a) He is able to select those ears which mature early, 
thus securing early maturity in the following season's crop. 

(6) He is able to study the parent plant and its environ- 
ment, just as we have done in Exercise 18. 

(c) He is able to study the characteristics of the ear 
and kernels, precisely as we did in Exercises 42, 43, and 44. 

(d) He is able to preserve the vitality of the seed, since 
it is gathered before the frost has had a chance to injure 
it and may be properly cared for thereafter. 



CORN 171 

(2) He may select it while husking, putting it into a 
box or basket attached to the wagon for this purpose. 
The advantages of this method are : 

(a) He may study the parent plant and its environment. 

(b) He may study the characteristics of the ears and 
kernels. 

(c) He is able to preserve the vitahty of the seed as 
he finds it. 

The disadvantages of this method are : 

(a) He is unable to select early-maturing ears with any 
degree of certainty. 

(6) The vitahty may have been already impaired by 
severe frosts. 

(c) Corn husking is done too hurriedly to permit of a 
careful examination of parent stalks, ears or kernels. 

(3) He may select seed ears while unloading the corn 
from the wagon. The advantages of this method are as 
follows : 

(a) He may study the characteristics of ears and 
kernels. 

(6) He may preserve the vitahty of the seed as he finds 
it. 

On the other hand, this method has the serious dis- 
advantages named below : 

(a) He can not study the parent plants nor their en- 
vironment. 

(h) He can not determine which ears will yield early- 
maturing seed. 

(c) The vitahty may have been already impaired. 

(d) There is not enough time to examine the ears 
properly. 

(4) He may leave the selection of seed until late winter 
or spring and then take it from the crib. There is httle 



172 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

to be said in favor of this method, save that the character- 
istics of ears and kernels may be seen. The chief objec- 
tions to *it are : 

(a) Nothing is known as to the parent plant or its 
environment. 

(6) It is impossible to determine which ears will yield 
early-maturing seed. 

(c) The vitality has very probably been seriously im- 
paired. This will be certainly true unless the corn was 
thoroughly dry when stored in the crib. 

114. How Selection of Seed may influence the Yield. — 

From the foregoing comparison of methods, it is evident 
that that of selecting seed corn from the field before the 
first severe frost occurs in the fall is greatly superior 
to any other. 

The farmer who selects his supply of seed in this way 
may reasonably expect to be rewarded by more vigorous 
plants, a more uniform stand, and consequently by in- 
creased yields. 

This is particularly true if he has previously taken the 
precaution to detassel alternate rows in a part or all of his 
field in the manner explained in the latter part of Section 
91, and if he now selects his seed supply only from the 
detasseled rows. 

115. Drying out the Seed. — Even though seed corn 
is mature and has been gathered in favorable weather, it 
should be dried as thoroughly as possible. 

This is brought about by putting it in a dry, well venti- 
lated place where there is a free circulation of air about each 
ear. At this time the ears should not be allowed to be in 
contact at any point. 

Unless the ears are thoroughly dried out, moisture, 



CORN 



173 



which is known to be the chief enemy of stored seeds 
(Section 35), may lead to the death of the embryo in two 
ways : 

(1) It favors the growth of destructive molds, as ex- 
plained in Section 99. 

(2) It makes the seed incapable of Avithstanding freez- 
ing. 

The drier the seed, the more freezing it will endure. This 




Fig. 74. — Making a seed corn holder. 



fundamental principle must be kept constantly in mind 
in drying seed corn. 

116. Storing the Seed. — After the seed corn is thor- 
oughly dried out, it should be stored where the followdng 
conditions are provided : 

(1) Protection from rain and snow, or dampness of any 
kind. 



174 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



(2) Protection from insects, rats, mice and other 
animals. 

(3) Free circulation of air. 

(4) Protection from extremes of heat and cold. 

(5) A convenient and simple arrangement of ears for 
spring seed testing. 

There are very many different methods of storing seed 
corn, whether on nails, on strings, in racks or otherwise. 
One method, which seems to be meeting the approval of 

many of the best farmers, is 
to cut a sort of pole ladder 
out of rather heavy wire fenc- 
ing, having square meshes 
and the wires soldered, or 
''welded" together at the in- 
tersections. Such fencing is 
easily procured at any store 
handling goods of this class. 

One of the vertical wires is 
followed from top to bottom 
and cross wires cut away from 
it at every other intersec- 
tion so that it resembles a pole with steps nailed on 
it. The drawing and pictures show clearly how this is 
done. 

The ears are put on these holders, which are then hung 
up in some such place as the garret of a dwelhng house 
where the conditions mentioned at the beginning of this 
section prevail. 



I ■■ ■ I <■ I M ■ 



Fig. 75. — How the wire is cut. 



117. Testing the Seed. — No matter how carefully the 
seed has been selected and stored, we can not be certain 
of our stand in the field without testing specimen kernels 
from each ear. While we are able in certain cases to de- 



CORN 



175 



tect dead kernels by an examination of the germs, yet we 
can not always do so with any degree of certainty ; and 
as for those which are alive, we are wholly unable to dis- 
tinguish in this manner the kernels of strong vitality from 
those which are weak. It follows that we can not be 
sure of the vitality of our seed corn save by an actual 
germination test. 

There are many 
methods of testing 
seed corn, although 
the same principles un- 
derlie all of them : 

First : Cloth, or any 
other material which 
touches the seed, 
should be boiled or 
some other method 
used to kill the spores 
of molds which may 
otherwise destroy the 
vitality of the seed. 

Second : The ma- 
terial in contact with 
the seed should be uni- 
formly moist, but not 
wet. (Section 47.) 

Third: The seed 
should be kept at a 
fairly uniform temper- 
ature of about seventy degrees Fahrenheit ; that is, at 
about ordinary room temperature. (Section 48.) 

Fourth : The seed must not be so closely confined as 
to exclude oxygen. (Exercise 20.) 

A few weeks before planting time in the spring, ger- 
mination tests may be made for as many patrons of the 
school as the space and time will allow. 




Fig. 76. — A good way to store seed corn. 



176 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

EXERCISE 46 

Object. — To determine the percentage of germinable 
kernels in twelve ears of corn. 

Procedure. — Each student should have a seed corn 
holder, made from soldered wire fencing as shown in Figure 
75 and described in Section 116. If this can not be con- 
veniently procured, however, a holder, or rack, of any other 
kind may be used. 

Bring to the schoolroom twelve ears of corn, which are 
to be used in the spring for seed. Place them on your 
holder, numbering the samples according to their position 
in some order that is not Hable to become confused. If 
there is any danger of getting the ears disarranged, they 
should be numbered by placing a rubber band about each 
one and fastening to the band a small numbered tag, 
or by driving a tack and numbered strip into the butt. 

Each student . should have a piece of musHn of good 
quahty about nine inches wide and thirty-six inches long ; 
and he should write upon it plainly his name, the name of 
the farmer for whom the seed corn is tested and the date 
of making the test. 

Lay your strip on a desk or table. Using a soft pencil 
— not indelible — mark it off as follows : 

(1) Draw a cross line ; that is, a line at right angles to 
the length of the strip, eight inches from the left end. This 
eight-inch space is to be left vacant. 

(2) Draw a line lengthwise along the middle of the 
cloth from this cross line to the other end. 

(3) Draw six other cross lines at right angles to this 
long line and four inches apart. 

There are now fourteen squares on your cloth. How- 
ever, the two at the end will not be used and may be dis- 
regarded. Number the others with your pencil so that 



CORN 



177 






the numbers will correspond in position if possible to 
those of the ears on the holder. This numbering should 
begin with the squares next to the eight-inch vacant 
space. 

Wet the strip and spread it out upon a desk or table or 
upon a smooth board. Now remove six kernels from ear 
number one, one from opposite sides near the butt, one 
from opposite sides at the middle, and one from opposite 
sides near the tip, — but no two from the same row. Place 
these kernels, germs upward, in square number one. They 
may be arranged in two rows of three kernels each, and 
with tips all pointing in the same direction, preferably 
a.way from the vacant 
space at the end of 
the cloth. 

Place six kernels, 
taken in the same man- 
ner, from ear number 
two in square number 
two. Proceed in this way until the kernels that are to 
be tested from each ear are properly arranged in their 
respective squares. 

Lay a light stick about nine inches long at the end where 
the vacant space was left. Roll the cloth loosely but care- 
fully about it until all the kernels are inclosed, taking care 
not to get them out of their respective squares. 

Tie a string or place a rubber band loosely about each 
end of the " rag doll " you have just made. The doll 
should now be placed in a pail of water at the temperature 
of the room for eight or ten hours. If it is put in the water 
at or before the opening of school in the morning, and 
removed from it at the close, the kernels will have taken 
up enough water to give a good test. 

When the rolls are removed from the pail, take off the 

N 



Fig. 77. — How the cloth is marked. 
The squares may be numbered otherwise 
if desired to correspond to the position of 
the ears in the seed corn holder. 



178 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



strings or rubber bands, place them loosely in a box of 
moist sawdust or in folds of clean, wet gunny sacks, and 
set them in a warm place for five or six days. If there is 
danger of freezing in the schoolroom, the box should be 
taken to some home until the rolls are to be opened and 
the count of the germinable seeds is to be made. The box 
should be covered with a screen to prevent the mice from 
entering ; and the sawdust or the folds of sacks should 
not be allowed to dry out. 




Fig. 78. —^ Some rag dolls. 



Courtesy Iowa State College- 



After five or six days, carefully remove the rolls from the 
box and unroll, taking care again not to displace the 
kernels from their respective squares. 

Conclusion. — Arrange in your notebook a table as 
shown on page 179. 

Figure the percentage of strong, weak and dead seed in 
each ear, and also in the twelve ears, which you have tested, 
taken as a whole. 

If a perfect stand from strong seed yields sixty bushels 
of corn per acre, at what rate should your twelve-ear 



CORN 



179 



sample yield, provided the weak kernels develop into 
weak plants, 3delding only thirty bushels per acre. 



Ear No. 


Kernels with 
Strong Sprouts 


Kernels with 
Weak Sprouts 


Kernels with 
No Sprouts 


1 








2 








3 






t 


4 








5 




^ 




6 








7 








8 








9 








10 








11 








]2 









Compare your results with those of others of the class, 
inquiring as to how each sample was selected, dried and 
stored, and see if you can find out why some samples 
test better than others. 



118. Grading the Seed. — In the selection of seed ears, 
we have endeavored in every way possible to secure uni- 
formity in size and shape of kernels in order that the 
planter might drop the seed accurately, which in turn 
should result in an even stand in the field. 

We may be sure, however, that the kernels will not be 



180 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



so uniform as we desire, no matter how carefully the 
seed ears have been chosen. There are three reasons 
for this : 

(1) The kernels near the tips will be small. 

(2) The kernels about the butts will be large and more 
or less irregular in size. 

(3) The average size of kernels on different ears will 
vary surprisingly. 

Because of the first two facts, the kernels about the 




Fig. 79. — Strong, . weak, and dead kernels. Note that kernels 
lacking the root sprout are accounted as dead, since they could not 
grow. They would be regarded in the same way if the stem sprout 
were lacking. 

butt and tip of each ear are shelled off and discarded before 
removing the corn from the bodies of the ears. 

After this is done, it is necessary to grade the remaining 
kernels as they are shelled. In doing this, three boxes 
or measures are provided, in the first of which are to be 
placed large kernels, in the second, kernels of medium 
size, and in the third, those which are small. The ears 
are shelled separately into a pan, usually with a hand 
sheller; a glance is then sufficient to show whether 
the kernels are of large, medium or small average size; 



CORN 181 

and they are placed in the box in which they are seen 
to belong. 

When the shelling is finished and the seed has been 
graded in this way, we have three sizes of seed. Even 
planting then becomes merely a matter of changing the 
plates in the machine when changing from one size of 
seed to another. If the planter does not drop the seed 
evenly, the grading, not the machine, should be blamed. 

119. The Ideal Seed Bed for Corn. — The ground in 
which the seed is planted is known as the seed bed. An 
ideal seed bed for corn may be described as follows : 

First : It should contain an abundance of available 
plant food. 

Second : It should be finely pulverized. 

Third : It should be loose and mellow so that the particles 
may he closely and compactly against the germinating 
seeds and yet allow air and moisture to move freely 
through it. (Sections 46 and 47.) 

■ Fourth : It should be reasonably free from weed seeds. 

Fifth : It should be free from injurious insects. 

Sixth : The surface should be made smooth to allow the 
easy movement of machinery. 

The methods to be employed in securing these condi- 
tions depend chiefly upon the character of the preceding 
crop and the condition in which it has left the ground. 
Corn is usually planted, — 

(1) In sod ground; i.e., land previously in grasses 
or clovers. 

(2) In cornstalk ground, or land previously in corn. 

(3) In stubble ground; i.e., land previously in small 
grain. 



182 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

120. Preparing a Seed Bed in Sod Ground. — If sod 

ground is to be prepared for corn, it should be (1) plowed 
in the fall unless it is badly needed for fall pasture ; (2) al- 
lowed to crumble and disintegrate through the winter 
(Exercise 15) ; (3) disced well early in the spring ; (4) 
disced and harrowed thoroughly and repeatedly later 
when getting the seed bed ready for planting ; and finally 
(5) harrowed until the ground is finely pulverized. 




Fig. 80. — Getting the ground ready for corn. 

The advantages of fall plowing of sod, which should be 
rough, or ridged, not smooth, are : 

(a) Crumbling and disintegration, due to freezing and 
thawing, can take place. 

(6) There is ample time for decay, which makes plant 
food available. 

(c) This disintegration and decay tend to restore capil- 
lary connection so that moisture can rise more freely from 
below. 

(d) The hibernating quarters of many injurious insects 

are destroyed. 



CORN 183 

Unless the rough plowed sod is disced down early and 
well in the spring, it will dry out badly. Discing at this 
time forms a mulch which conserves moisture ; and it also 
admits air about the roots, thus hastening decay and 
liberating plant food. 

It is common knowledge that corn in sod ground is 
liable to " fire " during the hot months of summer. This 
may be expected whenever large pieces of sod are allowed 
to remain in the seed bed, since the air can circulate so 
freely through the open spaces about them that the bed 
is quickly dried out. The corn, then^ becomes yellow 
simply from lack of moisture. To prevent this, it is neces- 
sary to disc thoroughly when getting the seed bed ready 
for planting that these sod masses may be cut into fine 
pieces; and after this, the harrow should be used until 
the soil is in the finest possible state of division. 

It is sometimes found impossible to plow sod ground 
for corn in the fall as indicated above. In this case, it 
should be first disced very early in the spring when the 
ground has thawed to a depth of only two or three inches. 
The disc at this time will cut through the sod, chopping it 
into fine pieces ; and when the plowing is done later, the 
earth will crumble as it turns nearly as well as does stubble 
ground. 

The plowing of sod in the spring should be done early, 
as considerable time is needed to restore the capillary 
connection with the subsoil and to liberate plant food by 
decay. It is a serious mistake to allow the grass to begin 
to grow before plowing sod in the spring as it consumes 
available plant food which at this time is deficient ; and 
later, when it is turned under, it prevents the rise of 
moisture from below. In doing this plowing in the spring, 
the harrow should follow soon after the plow as it forms 
a mulch, which prevents the newly turned sod from drying 



184 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

out. It is a notable fact that sod ground can be plowed 
earlier in the spring than any other ground, due to the fact 
that the abundance of roots in the soil prevents the baking 
which invariably follows the turning of other ground while 
wet. 

The final preparation of spring plowed sod ground should 
be similar to that of fall plowed sod, save that discing 
and harrowing should be even more thoroughly and 
painstakingly done. 

121. Preparing a Seed Bed in Cornstalk Ground. — If 

corn is to be planted on cornstalk ground, the first step 
in seed bed preparation is the breaking down of the pre- 
vious year's stalks. Following this, the land (2) should 
be plowed — unless the lister is to be used — as early as 
the condition of the soil will permit ; (3) the harrow should 
follow the plow closely ; and (4) when the seed bed is 
finally prepared for planting, it should be repeatedly 
disced and harrowed until it has become mellow and well 
pulverized. 

In breaking down the old stalks, the disc is commonly 
used. It is driven diagonally through the field and may 
go over the ground as often as necessary, depending 
upon the growth of stalks. Only in exceptional cases, if 
ever, should the stalks be raked up and burned, since this 
results in the loss of both humus and nitrogen from the 
soil. (Sections 68 and 110.) 

The plowing should not be done when the ground is so 
wet that it turns up '' slick," as it will then bake, clods 
will form, and these may remain in the seed bed throughout 
the season. 

If weeds and grass are allowed to grow before the ground 
is plowed, they consume plant food, which the young 
plants are certain to need later. 



CORN 185 

The harrow should follow the plow within half a day as 
a rule. In this way, the formation of clods can be pre- 
vented, and the mulch which is formed prevents the seed 
bed from drying out. 

122. Preparing a Seed Bed in Stubble Ground. — 

Small grain in the rotation really ought to be followed by 
clover or some other legume to restore nitrogen to the 
soil. Corn, therefore, should not be planted in stubble 
ground. This rule may be disregarded only in case a 
liberal application of barnyard manure is made a part 
of the preparation of the ground for corn. 

In this case, the successive steps should be about as 
follows : 

(1) The stubble should be disced as soon as the small 
grain is removed. This will form a mulch, prevent further 
loss of moisture, destroy weeds, cause weed and other seeds 
to germinate so that they will not be present in the ground 
the following spring, and make the draft lighter for the plow. 

(2) Barnyard manure should be applied liberally with 
a manure spreader. 

(3) The ground should be plowed in the fall as its 
moisture-holding capacity is thereby greatly increased. 

(4) It should be disced very early in the spring, as 
otherwise the rough plowed soil will dry out badly and the 
corn crop may be injured by the lack of moisture later. 

(5) The ground should be disced and harrowed until 
mellow and well pulverized when the final preparation 
is being made for planting. 

123. Planting the Seed. — There are three common 
methods of planting corn : 

(1) It may be checked; i.e., planted in hills in such a 
manner that rows are formed both lengthwise and cross- 



186 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



wise of the field. This is the common practice in sections 
having considerable rainfall. The particular advantage 
is that the corn may be cultivated both ways, thus keeping 
the weeds in check more easily. In case the corn is blown 
down by violent summer storms, however, there is further 




Fig. 81. — Lister at work. 



advantage in the fact that the wagon may be driven 
through in either direction at husking time. 

(2) It may be drilled; i.e., planted in continuous rows 
rather than in hills, a kernel being dropped every few 
inches. 

Drilled corn gives no higher yield than checked corn, 
provided there is the same number of stalks to the acre 



CORN 187 

in the two cases. However, drilling is regarded as pref- 
erable if the corn is to be used for silage, as by planting 
the kernels closer together in the rows, the growth may 
be made less rank and woody and harvesting machinery 
will run more smoothly. Drilling may also be preferred 
in case the field is irregular in shape so that checking is 
difficult or in case it is notably free from weeds so that 
cross cultivation is unnecessary. 

(3) It may be listed; i.e., planted in the bottom of a 
furrow, made by a special implement known as a lister, 
which is really a plow with two mold boards, which turn 
the ground to right and left. This practice prevails 
generally in the regions lacking ample rainfall. After the 
permanent root systems of the young plants have formed, 
the furrow is gradually filled up and in this way the roots 
are virtually sent down to moisture. It is a highly success- 
ful method, inasmuch as it results in notably increased 
yields in many parts of the western border of the Corn 
Belt. 

The seed is usually drilled in the lister furrow by a special 
attachment to the lister, or by a single drill or planter. 

124. The Time of Planting. — The date of planting 
corn in any locality is determined by a number of factors, 
among which are the following : 

(a) Latitude. 

(6) Weather Conditions. Cold spring rains frequently 
delay planting. 

(c) Temperature of the Soil. This, rather than arbi- 
trary dates on the calendar, is the most reliable guide as 
to when planting should be done. In general, the tem- 
perature of the ground should have reached at least fifty- 
five degrees Fahrenheit. 

{d) Quality of Seed. Seed that is known to be capable 



188 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

of strong, vigorous germination may be safely planted 
earlier than that whose vitality is low, because if bad 
weather follows such seed will not decay so readily. 

(e) Insects. These are commonly most destructive 
early in the seasorl ; hence late planted corn is less liable 
to be injured by them. In sod ground, believed to be 
badly infested by them, this is to be kept constantly in 
mind. 

The general rule is to plant corn as early as the tempera- 
ture and other soil conditions will permit. It has been 
quite conclusively shown that the highest yields are se- 
cured by early planting, owing, doubtless, to the greater 
length of the growing season. 

125. The Depth of Planting. — The general rule as to 
depth of planting is to plant as shallow as the conditions 
which govern germination will permit ; that is, the seed 
should be put into the ground only so deep as is necessary 
in order to secure all three of the conditions upon which 
germination depends, viz. : moisture, oxygen and suitable 
temperature. (Section 46.) 

The average depth of planting is perhaps about two and 
one half inches. As previously stated (Exercise 27), 
we do not try to control the depth of the root systems by 
the depth of planting, since this is impossible. In any 
given case, the depth of planting is determined chiefly 
by the following conditions : 

(1) Soil Texture and Structure. — In loose sandy soil, 
it is necessary to plant deep in order to reach moisture. 
On the other hand, this would not do ordinarily in a heavy 
clay soil as the seed would be deprived of oxygen, and 
moreover, after a heavy rain such soil has a tendency 
to puddle and bake, which prevents the sprouts from 
pushing through. 



CORN 189 

(2) Condition of the Seed Bed. — If the seed bed is 
poorly prepared, clods form, the surface dries out, and it 
becomes necessary to plant deeper than if the seed bed 
were well prepared. 

(3) Amount of Humus in the Soil. — If there is a large 
amount of humus in the soil, the seed bed does not dry 
out readily (Exercise 5), it contains plenty of air, or oxygen 
(Exercise 10), and hence corn need not be planted so deep 
as would otherwise be required. 

(4) The Depth of the Water Level. — The nearer the level 
of the gravity water is to the surface, the shallower the 
seed must be planted. 

(5) The Time of Planting. — The later the planting is 
done, the warmer the soil, and the drier it is as a rule near 
the surface ; hence late planting may be somewhat deeper 
than early planting. 

126. Distance between the Rows. — The distance 
between the rows varies greatly in different sections. 
In some parts, especially on new soils, the rows are com- 
monly three feet apart, while in other sections, whose 
soils are nearing exhaustion, the average distance between 
rows is upwards of six feet. In Iowa, it is commonly 
three and one half feet. 

The proper distance in any given case is determined, 
as the foregoing suggests, chiefly by the fertility of the 
soil. It may depend in certain cases, too, upon the use 
to be made of the crop. If it is intended that the crop 
be used as silage, the rows may be closer together than 
otherwise as the growth will be less woody. 

127. The Number of Kernels in Each Hill. — This, too, 
varies considerably in different localities. In the leading 
corn states, the number is usually either three or four. 



190 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

In any given case, the number that should be planted in 
each hill ordinarily depends upon several factors. These 
are as follows : 

(1) Quality of the Seed. — If the percentage of germin- 
able kernels is known to be low, the number planted in 
each hill is usually increased. 

(2) Fertility of the Soil. — If plant food is abundant 
in the soil, a greater number of kernels may be planted in 
each hill, since a greater number of plants can be supported. 

(3) Average Rainfall. — In regions where the rainfall 
is scant, fewer kernels are planted in each hill than in 
humid sections. 

(4) Insects. — If the soil is infested by destructive 
insects, it is deemed prudent to increase the number of 
kernels in each hill. 

(5) Use to be made of the Crop. — If the crop is to be 
used for fodder or silage, the number of kernels in each 
hill may be increased. 

128. The Replanting of the Missing Hills. — If for 

any reason the stand proves to be poor, the question of 
replanting arises. This is not at all the simple matter that 
it appears to be. It is easy enough, of course, to replant 
the occasional missing hills. The difficulty, however, 
arises in the fact that the plants in these hills, being younger 
than those about them, will not put forth flowers until the 
remainder of the field has passed the flowering stage. 
Most of the pollen from the older plants will have been 
shed before the silks of the younger plants are ready to 
receive it, the usual result being that the pistillate flowers 
of the latter are but poorly fertilized and small ears, or 
none at all, are formed. This may be avoided in a meas- 
ure by replanting with seed of some earlier variety, but 
the result in this case is a mixture of varieties. For these 



CORN 191 

reasons, corn growers regard replanting with disfavor 
and seek to avoid it so far as possible. 

A fairly satisfactory rule to follow is : 

If more than twenty per cent of the plants are missing, 
replant the entire field; if between ten and twenty per 
cent, replant the missing corn; if less than ten per cent, 
replant none. 

If the replanting is made necessary as a result of the 
destruction done by insects, the new rows should be 
planted between the old ones, and the latter should be left 
standing so that the insects may continue to feed upon them. 

129. Cultivation begins with the Harrow. — If the 
seed has been put in by either checking or drilHng, the 
ground should be harrowed crosswise of the rows as soon 
as the planting is finished. This will prevent the washing 
out of the kernels by subsequent showers, the water from 
which would naturally follow the tracks of the planter 
wheels. 

Even after the young plants are up, the field may be 
harrowed to advantage, as this will break up any crust 
that may have formed, thus preventing the loss of mois- 
ture ; and at the same time it will destroy very many 
small weeds. This harrowing, however, should not be 
done in the early morning when the little plants are turgid 
and therefore brittle (Section 69), as many of them will 
be broken off. Moreover, the harrow should usually be 
driven crosswise of the rows, the teeth should be set 
slanting backwards, the corn should not be harrowed just 
as it is coming through the ground, and the harrow should 
be kept away from wet places. 

130. Later Cultivation of the Crop. — For later cultiva- 
tion, the shovel cultivator is the implement generally used. 



192 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



The old-fashioned cultivator with four large shovels, 
which stirred the ground deeply and left it in a ridged 




Fig. 82. — Cultivator with large shovels. 

condition, is being gradually displaced by others, having 
six or more smaller shovels. It was formerly held that 




Fig. 83. — Cultivator with small shovels. 



the ground in which corn was growing required deep 
stirring throughout the early part of the season. This 



CORN 



193 



idea is now being gradually abandoned as many good 
farmers are coming to believe (1) that the seed bed should 
be prepared before, not after, planting, and (2) that the 
severing of roots by deep cultivation works serious injury 
to the growing plants, especially if this occurs after they 
have attained considerable size. 

131. Depth of Cultivation. — No fixed rule can be 
given as to the proper depth of cultivation. If the seed 




Fig. 84. — Depth of corn roots. 



bed has not been well prepared, deep stirring may be 
beneficial while the plants are small. However, as they 
become larger, the deep cultivation should be discon- 
tinued, as otherwise the shallow, spreading roots are cut off. 
There is but one way to tell how deep it is safe to cul- 
tivate. This is to make a careful examination to ascertain 



194 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

how near the roots are to the surface. After the cultivator 
has gone through the field once, we should scrape away 
the earth in two or three places to see if any of the roots 
have been cut or broken off. 

It is in the upper three or four inches of soil that avail- 
able plant food is most abundant, and this is the feeding 
ground of many important roots of the corn plant. It is 
self-evident that they should not be destroyed. It is 
safe to say that a great deal of the damage that has been 
sustained by farmers of the Corn Belt in the past as the 
result of drouths was avoidable in the sense that it was 
the direct effect of the severing of feeding roots at a time 
when the plants were unable to withstand this treatment 
without serious injury. 

132. Frequency of Cultivation. — The number of times 
that corn should be cultivated is determined by certain 
conditions which are highly variable. Since the purposes 
of cultivation are mainly to destroy weeds and to conserve 
moisture, we may say that the frequency of cultivation 
depends upon the weediness of the field and upon the 
number of beating rains which it may receive. It is a 
mistake either to allow weeds to become established in the 
field or to allow a crust, from which moisture can escape, 
to form and remain on the surface ; and on the other 
hand it is inadvisable to cultivate soil when it is already 
free from weeds and its surface finely pulverized. 

It should be noted in this connection that mere size 
constitutes no good reason for discontinuing the cultiva- 
tion of corn, or, as we say, " laying it by." It is true 
■ that when the plants become large enough to shade the 
ground effectually, the growth of weeds is checked to some 
extent, but it is also true that much more moisture is 
needed at this stage than at any other and that its con- 



CORN 195 

servation is more important than at any previous time. 
The correctness of this principle is abundantly shown by 
the fact that those farmers, who, in dry seasons, make it 
a practice to cultivate their corn throughout the hot, dry 
months whenever a crust begins to form almost invariably 
secure a very substantial increase in yield. The cultiva- 
tor used for this work is made to go between the rows. 
It is fitted with very small shovels, or even with harrow 
teeth, and is frequently made at home. 

A twofold injury results in case a crust is allowed 
to form upon the surface: the moisture, of which the 
plants stand in great need, is lost by evaporation ; and by 
the cracking of the dried-out soil, which almost invariably 
occurs, the roots that occupy the best part of the plants' 
feeding ground are broken or torn apart in large numbers, 
this being especially true of the smaller ones. 

133. Cultivation of Listed Corn. — Three things must 
be kept in mind in cultivating hsted corn : 

(1) The furrows should be opened out while the 
corn is just becoming estabhshed in order that the 
young plants may receive the maximum amount of 

« 

sunHght. 

(2) The weeds that appear on the shoulder of the 
ridge and about the young plants should be destroyed. 

(3) The furrow should be graduaUy filled up as the 
corn becomes older that the roots may be protected from 
the drying effect of the winds of midsummer. (Section 

123.) 

The furrows are opened out by discs which work in the 
bottom and against the shoulders of the ridges. This 
operation also destroys weeds on the sides and tops of 
the ridges. Small, curved knives or discs should follow 
behind and throw a very slight amount of dirt about the 



196 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



young corn to bury the tiny weeds and to prevent evapo- 
ration of moisture. 

As the corn becomes larger, the discs are reversed and 
the soil is drawn by successive cultivations about the 
roots of the plants. Shovels are usually substituted for 
the discs at the second and later cultivations. 

134. Harvesting the Crop. — One of the pecuHarities 
of every food-producing plant is that as food material 




Fig. 85. — Cutting corn with a binder. 



is stored in the seed, other parts of the plant become 
gradually woody and indigestible. 

In the case of corn, for example, we find that while 
the amount of dry matter in the plant increases steadily 
until the crop is nearly or quite mature, the amount of 
digestible matter increases only until the kernels become 
glazed over and diminishes quite rapidly thereafter. Thus 
the mature plants on an acre, yielding sixty bushels of 



CORN 



197 



corn, contain approximately 3300 pounds of digestible 
food material ; but these same plants, at the stage when 




Fig. 86. — Husking in the field. 



the ears were in the glaze, contained from 4000 to 4400 
pounds of digestible food material. In general we may 
say that the amount of digestible nutrients in the corn 



198 ' SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

plant is at least from 25 to 35 per cent greater when the 
ears are in the glaze than when the plant is mature. 

It is chiefly due to this fact that the practice of cutting 
corn when the ears are in the glaze, chopping it into fine 
pieces, and storing it in silos to be fed out later, has proved 
profitable, though another important reason is found in 
the fact that a store of palatable, succulent feed is thus 
secured for winter use. This method of harvesting the 
crop is undeniably gaining in popularity, and justly so. 

The practice of cutting the corn while in the glaze 
and shocking it to be used as dry fodder later, also has the 
advantage named above of yielding a greater amount of 
digestible food material from a given area than will be 
secured if the plants are allowed to mature and only the 
ears are taken. However, this method is open to the 
objection that a considerable amount of the food value is 
ordinarily lost as the result of molds, Aveathering and 
other causes. 

Notwithstanding the advantages of other methods, 
however, it is still true that by far the greater part of the 
corn crop grown in the central states is allowed to ripen 
in the field, gathered in wagons and stored in cribs. 

135. Crops used as Substitutes for Corn. — In those 
sections of the West where the rainfall is scant during the 
hot summer months, corn can not be safely grown. To 
take its place, other plants which are peculiarly adapted 
to a semiarid climate have been introduced from foreign 
lands, and are extensively grown for their grains which are 
not greatly different from corn in composition. Among 
these are Kafir corn, milo maize, dura, feterita and others. 

These plants are not to be regarded as varieties of corn 
at all. In fact, they are only distantly related to it, 
though they are true grasses. They came to us from 



CORN 



199 



Africa, while corn is a native of southern Mexico. They 
are sorghums, belonging to the same genus as ordinary 
sorghum cane ; but they are not sweet as we are apt to 
think all sorghums must be. They all bear their seeds, 
which are of various colors and more or less round in 
shape, in heads or spikes, at the tops of the stems. The 




Fig. 87. — Field of Kafir corn. 



leaves are coarser, thicker and glossier than those of corn 
and the yield of grain per acre is somewhat less. 

The value of these plants in the semiarid West depends 
not alone upon the fact that their pollen is able to fertilize 
the ovules while in a drier condition than is required by that 
of corn, but also upon their remarkable abihty to revive 
after hot winds or drouth and to continue growth. More- 



200 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

over, they are actually able to draw more moisture from 
the soil than is the corn plant. 

Corn which has once been stunted by drouth or by hot 
winds never fully recovers. The sorghums do recover, 
usually producing satisfactory crops of grain in spite of 
these adverse conditions. They have made possible the 
cultivation of a great deal of land in the semiarid West, 
which, but for them, could not be made to yield profitable 
crops. 

136. Planting and cultivating Kafir 'Corn and Similar 
Drouth-Resistant Crops. — Notwithstanding the fact that 
these crops endure drouth to a remarkable degree, they 
require a moist, mellow seed bed at the time the young 
grain is sprouting, and rather exacting conditions as to 
the way in which the seed is put into the ground. If the 
ground is too dry, or if the seed is planted too shallow, 
the young plants will not succeed. If planted too deep, 
or in a situation where the loose dirt will be washed over 
them during dashing rains, the young plants can not push 
their way to the surface, owing to the limited supply of 
food in the seeds which are comparatively small (Exer- 
cise 24.) 

Those fields which produce the best yields of Kafir 
corn and other similar crops are the ones in which (1) the 
soil has been put carefully into condition to receive and 
hold the moisture as explained in Sections 30 and 31, and 
in which (2) the furrows have been opened with the lister 
in such a way as to prevent so far as possible the water 
from running down the rows. The latter is accomplished 
by keeping the bottoms of the furrows as nearly level as 
possible, as, for example, by following around the hills 
with the lister rather than simply up and down their 
slopes. 



CORN 



201 



The planting is done from one to three weeks later 
than that of corn in the same latitude. The best plan 
is to put the seed in 
with a drill of special 
design, which leaves 
the bottom of the fur- 
row slightly ridged 
along the middle. This 
prevents such soil as 
may be washed into 
the furrow from being 
deposited upon the 
sprouting seeds. Dry 
land farmers, and 
others who grow Kafir 
corn, say that more 
seed is planted too 
deep than too shallow. 
Experience and experi- 
ments show that seed, 
covered to a depth of 
about one inch with 
moist, mellow earth, 
germinates and be- 
comes estabhshed well. 

Care must be exer- 
cised during the first 
cultivation not to 
cover the young, ten- 
der plants. Moreover, 

they need plenty of Fig. 88. — Head of Kafir com. 

sunshine and warmth. 

In general, the methods of cultivation are the same as 
those given for listed corn in Section 133. 




202 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

QUESTIONS 

1 . Name four uses of corn. 

2. What changes do we find in the corn plant as we go from 
south to north through the United States ? 

3. Name the two factors which commonly limit the yield of 
corn throughout the Corn Belt. 

^ 4. Name seven indications of unsoundness or immaturity 
in an ear of corn. 

5. Name five important points considered in examining the 
ear of seed corn. Three in examining the kernels. 

6. Name four methods of selecting the seed supply for the 
following year's crop. 

7. State the advantages of the one first given in the text. 

8. In what ways may moisture cause the death of the germs 
of an ear of seed corn? 

9. Name the conditions necessary in storing seed corn. 

10. Tell how to make a germination test with a "rag doll." 

11. Describe the ideal seed bed for corn. 

12. Name the steps necessary in preparing such a seed bed 
in sod ground. 

13. What are the advantages of fall plowing of sod ground? 

14. State two reasons why the burning of stalks should be 
avoided. 

15. What is the particular advantage of checking corn? 

16. What is the great advantage of listing corn? 

17. Why do corn growers regard the replanting of missing 
hills with disfavor? 

18. How could you tell how deep it is safe to cultivate a field 
of corn? 

19. Name two injurious results of allowing a crust to form on 
the surface of the ground while the corn is growing. 

20. Name three reasons why the sorghums can succeed in drier 
weather than can corn. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE SMALL GRAINS 

The term cereal is applied both to the plants which 
yield the grains and to the grains themselves. Cereals, 
then, include corn, Kafir corn and other sorghums, oats, 
rye, barley, rice, millet, etc. The cereals are all monocoty- 
ledons and members of the grass family. They make up 
by far the greater part of the food of man and have since 
the dawn of history occupied very largely his cultivated 
land. 

The leading cereal, or grain crop, varies in different 
countries. In northern Europe it is rye ; in southern 
Europe, barley; in Asia, rice. In North America, the 
most important crop is maize, or corn, while wheat 
occupies second place although it is the chief food of 
civilized man. Oats rank third. 

Wheat 

137. Why Wheat is so extensively grown. — The 
Chinese are known to have cultivated wheat for nearly 
five thousand years. As civilization has moved west- 
ward, the cultivation of wheat has moved also in that 
direction. There are a number of reasons why wheat 
has always been a leading grain crop and will always 
continue to be so : 

(a) It succeeds in a wide range of soils and chmates. 

(6) It requires as httle tillage as any grain we grow. 

(c) It yields quick and abundant returns. 

203 



204 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 







y3 



00 



o 

l-H 



THE SMALL GRAINS 205 

(d) It can be easily transformed into a light, appetizing, 
wholesome, almost perfect food for human beings. 

(e) Valuable foods for domestic animals are prepared 
from those portions of the grain which man does not use 
for white flour. 

138. Climatic Conditions Favorable for the Growth of 
Wheat. — In , North America, the greater part of the 
wheat crop is produced where the temperature in January 
is below freezing. Wheat is grown in California and other 
portions of the country where cold winter weather does 
not prevail, but on the whole, the cultivation of the crop 
is moving northward. The immense wheat fields of Al- 
berta and Saskatchewan in Canada show this to be true. 

The best wheat is grown where there is a long, cool 
spring, followed by a moderately dry, sunny summer 
season while the grain is ripening. 

139. Winter and Spring Wheat. — There are two 
general classes of wheat : that which is sown in the fall, 
called winter, or fall wheat ; and that which is sown in the 
spring. In general, winter wheat, which comprises from 
sixty to seventy per cent of the total wheat crop of the 
United States, is grown south of the forty-second parallel, 
while most of the spring wheat is grown north of that line. 

Winter wheat is more productive than spring wheat, 
as a rule, in those sections where both may be grown ; 
and owing to the introduction of hardier varieties, it is 
being grown, like corn, farther north each year. 

140. Systems of Rotation. — Throughout the newer 
regions of the great wheat belt, wheat follows wheat 
year after year. The virgin soil, modern cultivating 
and harvesting machinery, the comparatively low price 
of land, the satisfactory returns and the scarcity of labor 



206 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

have been responsible for this. However, after only a 
few years, it is found necessary to introduce some system 
of '^ rotation," or succession of crops, which will keep up 
the physical condition and as far as possible the fertility 
of the soil. 

In the older grain states, particularly those of the great 
central valley, a five-year rotation is often recommended 
as follows : 

First Year, Corn. 
Second Year, Oats. 
Third Year, Wheat. 

Fourth and Fifth Years, Timothy and Clover which 
have been sown in the wheat the third year. 

In those sections of the country, which are given over 
largely to the production of corn, corn is often grown two 
years in succession. Oats are sown in the cornstalks the 
following spring, for the soil is well settled, making a firm 
seed bed, which is highly desirable. Wheat with which 
timothy is sown follows the oats ; and clover is sown in the 
wheat field in the spring. The young clover takes pos- 
session of the land after the wheat is removed, yields a full 
crop the following year, and the ground is plowed in the fall. 
The sixth spring, the field goes back into corn again. 

Sometimes this rotation is shortened by omitting the 
oats. Wheat then follows corn. If winter wheat is 
grown, the corn may be cut for fodder or for silage, or the 
wheat may be sown between the corn rows with a one- 
horse drill. Spring wheat is sown with larger drills 
after the cornstalks have been cut or broken down in the 
spring. 

141. The Seed Bed and how to prepare it. — Successful 
growers of small grains have learned that these crops 



THE SMALL GRAINS 207 

demand a seed bed that is loose, or mellow, in the upper 
two or three inches, but firm and compact below this 
depth. 

To secure a seed bed of this description in case wheat is 
to be grown after oats, the stubble ground may be (1) 
disced as soon as possible after the oats are removed; 
(2) plowed, not too deeply, as early as this can be conven- 
iently done ; (3) harrowed immediately after plowing to 
prevent loss of moisture; and (4) harrowed and disced 
as often as necessary just before seeding time in order 
to make the surface soil loose and mellow. 

The advantages of discing before the plowing is done 
are as follows : 

(1) It conserves moisture by making a dust mulch. 

(2) It allows rain to enter the soil instead of running off. 

(3) It destroys growing weeds, and starts the germina- 
tion of other weed seeds in the soil. 

(4) It makes the draft lighter for plowing because the 
soil is loose and mellow. 

(5) It pulverizes the soil and works the straw into it 
in such a manner as to allow the water to rise freely after 
plowing. 

The reasons for early plowing of the ground when pre- 
paring it for wheat are : 

(1) It gives time for the seed bed to become firm and 
compact whether from rains, the weight of horses and 
machinery or other cause. 

(2) It gives time for capillary connection to be restored. 

(3) It gives time for hberation of plant food by decay. 

(4) In the case of winter wheat, winterkilling is reduced 
because of the greater compactness of the seed bed. 

142. Selection of the Seed. — Experiments favor the 
selection of the large, plump seeds, for the reason shown 



208 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

in Exercise 24. These may be secured by running the 
wheat through the fanning mill, which removes not only 
the small, shriveled and broken kernels, but many of the 
weed seeds as well. Uniformity, freedom from weed 
seed and other foreign matter, soundness, weight per 
bushel and hardness are all taken into consideration in 
selecting seed wheat. 

We may compare and judge samples, and in this way 
become familiar with our leading small grain. 

EXERCISE 47 

Object. — To compare and judge two samples of seed 
wheat. 

Procedure. — Procure two samples of wheat, each to con- 
sist of a quart or more. Mark them " No. 1 " and ''No. 2." 

Compare them with regard to uniformity, freedom from 
foreign matter, including weed seeds, soundness, weight 
per bushel and hardness as directed below : 

(1) Uniformity. — The kernels should be uniform in 
size, shape and color ; and in judging the sample, the 
prevailing size, shape and color should be used as a basis. 
The term color as used here relates to the natural color 
of the kernels. It follows that we do not hold it against 
a sample at this stage if discolored kernels are present, 
for the reason that discoloration of kernels will be con- 
sidered later under soundness. In determining the pre- 
vailing size, shape and color, count out one hundred kernels 
and sort them out in piles according to the differences 
which they show in this respect. 

The reason for making uniformity an important factor 
in judging grains is that it is our only reliable guide as to 
the purity of the variety. If varieties are mixed, we find 
that the size, the shape, or the color, or perhaps all three, 
will be variable. 



THE SMALL GRAINS 209 

(2) Freedom from Foreign Matter. — We look for three 
kinds of foreign matter in wheat. The first and worst 
one is weed seeds ; the second is grain of other kinds, as 
barley or oats; and the third is inert matter, as sticks, 
clxaff, etc. 

(3) Soundness. — This is an important factor to con- 
sider in judging seed wheat. The kernels should be plump 
and bright in color. Shriveled kernels indicate immaturity. 
The sample should be free from kernels which are decayed, 
sprouted, musty, moldy, binburnt, broken, shrunken, 
smutted, bleached, bUstered, discolored, damp, or insect 
injured. 

Most of these unsoundnesses indicate that the vitality 
of the seed has been impaired or destroyed, which ac- 
counts for the importance attached to this point in judging 
seed wheat. 

(4) Weight per Bushel. — Plump, well-developed ker- 
nels of 7nediu7n size indicate a high weight per bushel. 
We consider the sample low in weight per bushel in pro- 
portion as we find many shrunken, shriveled, musty, 
moldy, sprouted or badly weathered kernels, or in case 
much inert foreign matter is present. In judging samples, 
weight per bushel is usually determined rather by indica- 
tions of this kind than by actual weighing, as the latter 
can not ordinarily be done. 

High weight per bushel is desirable in seed wheat, for 
it means that the kernels are plump, or in other words 
that the store of food for the embryo in the average kernel 
is large. (Exercise 24.) 

(5) Hardness. — Relative hardness may be deter- 
mined by biting in two several kernels from each sample, 
or by cutting them in two with a knife. Hard wheat is 
best for milling purposes and commands a higher price in 
the market. 



210 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Conclusion. — State which of the two samples you 
consider better from the standpoint of uniformity and 
give reasons for your opinion. In the same way, state 
which one you beheve to be better as regards freedom from 
foreign matter, soundness, weight per bushel and hardness, 
giving reasons for your decision in each case. In view of 
all the answers you have given, which one do you regard 

as the better of the two 
samples of wheat? 
State reasons for your 
answer fully. 

Now weigh equal 
amounts by measure 
of each sample, using, 
for instance, a baking 
powder can, level full, 
and see if their rela- 
tive weights are about as you have judged them to be. 
Write in your notebook the reason or reasons why each 
of the five points named is regarded as important in judg- 
ing seed wheat. 




Fig. 90. — Drilling in wheat. 



143. Planting the Seed. — The grain drill has come 
largely to take the place of the old broadcast method, and 
on the whole has given much better results. 

The time of sowing depends upon the climate, the soil, 
and, in case of winter wheat, upon the prevalence of an 
insect known as the Hessian fly. The farther south we 
go, the later the sowing may be done for winter wheat. 
In the region of the fortieth parallel, the date of sowing 
it is about the middle of September. Farther north, 
where spring wheat is raised, the seeding is done from the 
latter part of April until the latter part of May, depending 
upon the latitude or the season. Fall or winter wheat 



THE SMALL GRAINS 



211 



may be sown in a fertile soil later than in a poor soil and 
in a well-prepared seed bed later than in one poorly pre- 
pared. The roots must become well established before 
winter sets in or winterkilling is apt to result. On the 
other hand, too early sowing may cause plants to 
" shoot," after which they will be killed by the extreme 
cold of winter. 





iiif 


., ■■ 


J 




H^ 




^F 


- >-^fe#^^«i 






'1 

> 



Fig. 91. — Cutting grain with a self-binder. 

The Hessian fly makes its appearance known by attack- 
ing the volunteer wheat, which comes up after the crop 
is harvested. When the insect is present in the fields, 
seeding must be delayed until practically time for frost, 
for after this time, the eggs are no longer laid. In Kansas 
and Oklahoma, wheat planted in the first week in October 
usually escapes injury from the Hessian fly. 

144. Harvesting the Wheat. — The wheat harvest 
begins in the South in May and moves gradually north- 
ward, the crop in North Dakota being harvested in August. 



212 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Laborers are able to follow the harvest and find employ- 
ment in the wheat fields throughout the summer months. 

The time of cutting wheat depends largely upon the 
kind of machinery with which it is done. Wheat, which 
is cut with the binder, and placed in shocks, must be not 
fully ripe or the grain will shatter. 

If the wheat is cut with the header, it must be nearly 
ripe or it will mold when placed in the stack. 




Fig. 92. 



Courtesy Internalional Harvester Co. 
Combined harvester and thresher. 



In California, Oregon and Washington a combined 
header and thresher is often used. In this case, the grain 
must be fully ripe, as otherwise it can not be stored. The 
varieties of wheat grown there and the dry weather which 
usually prevails at harvest time, make it possible for grow- 
ers to allow their grain to stand even for several weeks. 

145. The Uses of Wheat. — Unless the price of wheat 
is very low, whole wheat is not used as a feed for domestic 
animals. 



THE SMALL GRAINS 213 

The inner portion of the grain is used for flour, the 
wheat yielding about seventy per cent of this product. 

The outer coat of the grain is made into bran, a coarse, 
light product, which is extensively used as a feed for stock. 
The embryos and the layers just beneath the bran are 
mixed usually with the bran itself, forming a product, 
known as wheat middlings: These portions of the grain 
are rich in protein, and therefore have a high feeding 
value. (Section 94.) 

If no part of the grain is removed after grinding, the 
product is known as Graham flour; if the coarser parts 
are removed, it is called whole wheat flour. 

Experiments have shown that the percentage of the 
different flours that is digestible when used as food is as 
follows : 

White flour 90.1 % 

Whole wheat flour 85.5 % 

Graham flour 80.7 % 

Thus we see that a higher percentage of the white flour 
is digestible than of the others, partially because of its 
finer state of division, but also because most of the in- 
digestible parts of the kernels have been removed. Be- 
cause of this greater digestibility, bread from white flour 
will doubtless long remain, as it is at present, the choice 
of the great majority of the people. 

Oats 

146. Oats a Cool Climate Crop. — The oat plant is a 
short season plant. It requires a smaller amount of 
heat for its development than does barley or wheat; 
and for this reason, it is grown most successfully in the 
cooler climates. In Scotland, Norway, Sweden and in 
Canada, large quantities of oats are grown. The average 



214 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



yield per acre steadily increases as one goes northward 
throughout the United States to Canada, and the average 

weight per bushel 
increases at the 
same time. In the 
South, the oats 
commonly grown 
are those which, 
like winter wheat, 
are sown in the 
fall. Although not 
so valuable a crop 
as some others, oats 
are grown exten- 
sively in the United 
States because the 
crop fits well in the 
rotation. 

147. Varieties of 
Oats. — In color, 
oats may be white, 
yellow, red or black, 
those of the first 
two colors being 
most commonly 
grown. 

As in the case of 
wheat, there are 
two general classes 
of oats ; viz., winter 
oats and spring 
oats. The former are grown in southern and Pacific states, 
and, like corn and winter wheat, are gradually moving 




Fig. 93. — Panicle of oats. 



THE SMALL GRAINS 215 

northward. By far the larger part of the oats grown by 
the civihzed world, however, are of the spring varieties. 

The variety of oats adapted to any given locality 
depends not upon the length of the hot, growing season 
as in the case of corn, but upon the duration of the cool 
weather in spring and early summer. Thus in Canada, 
late maturing varieties of spring oats are successfully 
grown. In the northern part of the United States, medium 
varieties of spring oats thrive best, since late varieties can 
not mature in time as a rule to escape the hot weather. 
In the same way, early spring oats give the largest yields 
in the Corn Belt generally, while in the South, where the 
period of cool weather is short, spring varieties can not 
be grown successfully, but it becomes necessary to use 
instead those varieties which make a part of their growth 
in the fall and hence are able to mature their crop before 
the hot summer weather comes. 

148. Preparation of the Seed Bed. — Oats do not 
require as deep a seed bed as does wheat. Land which 
has been in corn the previous year may be thoroughly 
disced in the spring and the seed planted preferably with 
a drill; but only in cases of extreme necessity, if ever, 
may the growth of stalks be burned at this time. 

Among the advantages of drilling may be mentioned 
the following : 

(1) The seed is planted at a uniform depth. 

(2) A more even distribution of seed is secured. 

(3) The crop germinates, grows and matures more 
evenly. 

(4) The yields are larger.' 

(5) Less seed is required. 

If the soil is naturally compact, as is often the case in 
the eastern states and also in those soils lacking humus, the 



216 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

best results are usually obtained by plowing the seed bed 
before discing. If this is done in the fall, the farmer is 
able to get his field planted earlier in the spring, and the 
firm, fine, compact seed bed, which all small grains require, 
will have had time to form. 

149. The Selection of Oats for Seed. — Heavy seed 
is preferred to that which is hght in weight. In Minnesota, 
the difference in yield between heavy and light seed has 
been found in some cases to be nearly ten bushels per acre. 

The seed should, if possible, be taken from fields free 
from loose smut, but if there is any indication of the dis- 
ease, the oats should be treated as explained in Exercise 36. 
In fact, some of the most successful growers recommend 
that all seed oats be so treated every other year. 

The desirable characters of seed oats may be well 
brought out by comparing one sample with another. 

EXERCISE 48 

Object. — To compare and judge two samples of oats. 

Procedure. — Secure two samples of oats, each to con- 
sist of at least two quarts. They should be marked " No. 
1 " and '' No. 2." Compare them carefully as regards (1) 
uniformity, (2) freedom from weed seeds and other foreign 
matter, (3) soundness, (4) proportion of kernel to hull, and 
(5) weight per bushel, in the manner directed below : 

Uniformity. — As in the judging of wheat, we wish the 
sample to be uniform in size, shape and color. The 
prevailing size, shape and color are used as a basis, and 
discoloration of kernels is not held against the sample 
at this stage as it will be under soundness. In determin- 
ing the prevailing size, shape and color, count out one 
hundred kernels and sort them out in piles according to the 
differences which they show in these respects. 



THE SMALL GRAINS 217 

The importance of uniformity in oats is precisely the 
same as in wheat, that is, it is our only means of judging 
purity of variety. A mixture of varieties will show varia- 
tion in one or more of the three respects named. 

Freedom from Foreign Matter. — Foreign matter in- 
cludes (1) weed seeds, (2) other grains, and (3) inert 
matter, the first being most objectionable and the last 
least so. 

Sou7idness. — As in the case of wheat, this is deemed an 
important point to consider in judging seed oats. The 
grain should be bright, but not green — as this indicates 
immaturity — nor yet dull in color. No damp, dis- 
colored, weathered, immature, musty, moldy, smutted, 
badly broken or sprouted grains should be present, as these 
conditions indicate that the vitality has been impaired 
or destroyed. We do not, however, regard a slight dis- 
coloration as a very serious matter since it is so commonly 
found and can not ordinarily be taken as an indication of 
impaired vitality. 

Proportion of Kernel to Hull. — A high proportion of 
kernel to hull is, of course, desirable, as it indicates that 
the feeding value of the grain is high. 

The indications of a high proportion of kernel to hull 
are (1) a plump kernel, (2) a thin hull, and (3) a short 
hull without an awn. The opposite conditions, of course, 
indicate a low proportion of kernel to hull. 

Weight per Bushel. — The indications of a high weight 
per measured bushel are (1) plump grains of medium size, 
and (2) a high proportion of kernel to hull, determined as 
shown above. 

In general, high weight per bushel means that the 
oats should produce vigorous young plants when sown, 
owing to the large stores of food in the plump kernels. 

Conclusion. — Which sample do you deem better 



218 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

from the standpoint of uniformity? Write reasons for 
your answer. Which one excels in each of the other four 
points ? Give reasons in each case. Finally, which is the 
better sample? Write your reasons carefully. 

Why is each of the five points given regarded as im- 
portant in judging seed oats? 

150. Harvesting the Crop. — If oats are cut with a 
self-binder, they should be harvested just as the straw is 
turning yellow and the leaves are drying up, at which 
time the kernels are past the " hard dough stage." If 
cut before this time, the kernels will become shriveled ; 
if later, the oats will shatter badly and much of the grain 
be lost. 

If oats are to be used as hay, they should be cut while 
the kernels are in the milk stage. 

151. Shocking and Stacking Oats. — After the oats 
are cut, the bundles are usually set together in shocks. 
The grain which, as stated in the preceding section, is not 
fully mature at the time of cutting continues to ripen 
after shocking. 

There are two general types of shocks, — the long and 
the round. Each has its advantages and its advocates. 
The long shocks permit a freer circulation of air and hence 
dry out more quickly and thoroughly. This type of 
shock is preferable if the grain is cut a little too green, or if 
many coarse weeds are present. On the other hand, the 
round shocks expose less surface to the elements and 
are less easily blown down, and they, therefore, afford 
better protection from the weather, especially if they are 
capped. The merits of the two types of shocks probably 
depend more upon the skill and ability of the shocker 
than upon the shocks themselves. 



THE SMALL GRAINS 219 

No matter which type is used, the oats are certain to be 
injured if they are subjected to many soaking or beating 
rains. To avoid the danger of this injury, many good 
farmers make it a practice to stack their grain as soon as 
it has ripened and dried out properly in the shock, unless 
it is to be threshed very soon. The advantages of this 
practice, provided the stacking is well done, are : 

(1) It prevents loss due to injury in the shock, thus 
yielding grain of better quality than would otherwise be 
obtained. 

(2) It prevents heating and sweating in the bin after 
threshing. 

(3) Less labor is required at threshing time. 

(4) The straw is left in a convenient place and is 
usually of a superior quahty. 

152. The Uses of Oats. — Oats are used largely as a 
feed for horses and to a limited extent for cattle and 
sheep. They are not considered a desirable feed for 
hogs, other than brood sows, on account of their coarse 
hulls. 

Oat hay is an excellent forage and is used extensively 
in the southern and Pacific states. It is cared for just 
as is any other crop of hay, but if handled too much, 
both leaves and grain are lost by shattering. 

Oats are sometimes sown with field peas or with rape. 
In the first case, the mixture of oats and peas makes 
excellent hay, while in the latter case, the rape is used 
for pasture after the oats are harvested. 

153. OatmeaL — Oats, freed from their hulls and rolled, 
make the most nutritious cereal food we have, though 
oatmeal was not used as human food until machinery was 
perfected for removing the hulls. 



220 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 




M 
o 
o 

03 



pq 



6 



THE SMALL GRAINS 221 

The consumption of this product continues to increase 
year by year, and, hke the Scotchman, the American is 
coming to be known as an oatmeal eater. 

Barley and Rye 

Neither of these grains is grown extensively in the 
United States, at least as compared with corn, wheat or 
oats. Both are naturally cool climate crops. 

154. Methods of Cultivation and Uses of Barley. — 
Barley is grown in a wider range of climate than any 
other cereal ; but in our country, it is produced in greatest 
abundance in the drier portions of the plains states and in 
the Pacific states. In those states where oats and corn 
can not be very successfully grown, as in California, 
barley has become an important crop and is used for hay 
as well as for grain. 

Barley requires the same seed-bed preparation as does 
wheat, and the crop is harvested in much the same way. 

Aside from its use as a feed for stock, this grain is used 
for making malt from which certain alcoholic liquors are 
derived. 

155. Soil Requirements and Uses of Rye. — = While 
barley demands a fertile soil, rye will succeed in a very 
poor soil. Hence rye is grown in soils, as well as in 
climates, where other grain crops fail. 

Rye is used in making flour, particularly in some 
foreign countries, and also as a feed for domestic animals. 
The straw is used in the manufacture of paper and as 
packing material. It is the opinion of some authorities 
that, were it not for the demand for the straw, the produc- 
tion of the crop would rapidly decrease. 



222 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Rice 

156. The Soil Requirements of Rice. — Rice is con- 
sumed more largely by the human race than is any other 
grain. This is due to the fact that it succeeds well in the 
centers of densest population, as in India, China and Japan. 




Fig. 95. — A field of growing rice. 

The production of rice has increased rapidly in the 
United States in the last ten to twenty years. Lowlands 
in the southern part of this country not suited to other 
crops produce an excellent grade of this grain. It is 
required that these lowlands be capable of being drained 
or flooded at will. 

157. Preparation of the Seed Bed. — The land is 
plowed while it is dry in the fall and winter months if the 
soil is of such a character as to permit of this. Certain 
types of rice soil, however, can not be worked in this 



THE SMALL GRAINS 223 

condition and must therefore be plowed and harrowed 
while covered by water. 

158. Planting the Seed. — The seed may be planted 
in the soil while it is submerged. If the land can be cul- 
tivated dry, however, the seed is planted while it is in this 
condition either with a drill or broadcast ; and if necessary, 
it is covered by means of a harrow or otherwise. The 
water is then turned on the land to start germination, 
after which it is drained off again until the plants are well 
started. ^. 

159. Caring for the Growing Crop. — When the plants 
are about six inches high, the field is again flooded and 
the water kept on it at a depth of from two to six inches 
for about two months. The water is constantly renewed 
to prevent its becoming stagnant or the water weeds 
from becoming estabhshed. 

When the rice is in the milk stage, the water is drained 
off and the land allowed to dry while the grain ripens. 
The crop is cut with an ordinary wheat binder wherever 
possible though it is necessary in certain places along the 
lower Mississippi to use the sickle. The bundles of rice 
are shocked and later threshed with the ordinary threshing 
machine. 

160. How the Grain is prepared for Use. — The rice 
grains are covered with rough hulls when they come from 
the threshing machine. At the rice mills, these hulls are 
removed by rapidly revolving '' milling stones," after 
which the outer coat, or cuticle, of the kernel is removed 
by special machinery. The grains are then run through 
machines which pohsh them by friction against cyhnders 
covered with moose hide or sheep skin. The polished 
rice has less food value than that which is not pohshed, 



224 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

but its appearance has until recent years given it a higher 
market value. 

161. Uses of Rice. — Rice is used almost exclusively 
as human food although some is used in the manufacture 
of starch. The bran and the finely broken pieces, usually 
called rice flour, are used as a feed for stock, corresponding 
to the bran, shorts and middlings of wheat. 

'' Rice straw " hats are not made from rice, but from 
other grasses. Similarly, Chinese " rice paper " is made 
from the pith of a tree. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name the six principal cereals of America. 

2. What is the leading small grain of America ? Of northern 
Europe? Of southern Europe? 

3. Name five reasons why wheat is extensively grown. 

4. What is the most favorable spring and summer weather 
for wheat? 

5. What is the difference between winter wheat and spring 
wheat ? 

6. What kind of seed bed do small grains require ? 

7. Name the points considered in the selection of seed wheat 
and also of seed oats. 

8. What are the advantages of long shocks? Of round 
shocks ? 

9. Give the uses of wheat, oats, barley and rye. 
10. Tell briefly where and how rice is grown. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS AND LAWNS 

In taking up a brief study of the plants under this head, 
we must keep clearly in mind what true grasses look like. 
Plants of other famiUes, as for example, the pea, or clover 
family, are used extensively for pastures, meadows and 
lawns ; but they are not true grasses and \Yi\l not be studied 
in this chapter. 

162. Characteristics of All the Grasses. — We have 
studied in different places in the preceding chapters the 
characteristics of the grasses, which are monocotyledons. 
Let us now bring them together that we may always know 
a true grass when we see it. 

The roots of the grasses are fibrous, springing from the 
base of the stem as the first, or temporary root is "vvithering 
away and finally forming a mass just beneath the surface 
of the ground, as explained in Exercise 27. 

The stems are round and usually hollow, though they 
are sometimes filled with pith as is the cornstalk. They 
are made up of nodes and internodes ; that is, prominent 
joints with spaces between the joints. 

The leaves envelop the stem by a sheath at the lower 
portion, are parallel-veined and their upper parts are 
relatively narrow and lance-shaped. They are arranged 
alternately on the stem, one springing from each node. 

The flowers are greenish in color, inconspicuous, and 
appear usually at the tops of the stems. We have studied 
a typical grass flower in Exercise 35. 
Q 225 



226 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



The seed is a grain, covered with a thin seedcoat. It is 
usually longer than wide, the germ being located at one 
end and on one side. 



. 163. A Peculiar Habit of Growth. — Grasses, particu- 
larly those which grow year after year, or perennials, 




(-'(jpy right by Undcnvood and Undtr/cood. 
Fig. 96. — Cattle on the range. 

often have creeping underground stems by which the 
plants spread. 

In the small grains, which are not perennials, but an- 
nuals, we call this habit stooling. The same tendency is 
shown even by corn in its habit of forming suckers. These 
in corn are considered undesirable, while we often watch 
for wheat to stool with some anxiety as it is a method 
which the plant has of filling the vacant spaces. 

Grasses used for the purposes named in this chapter 
may be grouped under three heads : 



GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 227 

First : wild prairie and timber grasses. 

Second : cultivated meadow and pasture grasses. 

Third : lawn grasses. 

164. Wild Grasses. — When the white man first 
began to settle in the territory now known as the United 
States, the land was covered either with timber or with 
wild grasses. Gradually the timber has been cut away 
and the prairie grasses have been broken up to make 
way for cultivated fields. There yet remain, and will 
probably always remain, however, vast stretches of 
prairie in the western plains and in the extreme western 
parts of the United States where wild grasses are abundant, 
supporting milUons of head of cattle, sheep and horses, and 
yielding large quantities of wild hay. 

165. Cultivated Grasses. — The principal grasses which 
have come to occupy an important place for meadow and 
pasture purposes are : 

Timothy, the standard meadow grass. 
Kentucky blue grass, a pasture grass, which is used 
also for lawns. 

Redtop, which is used for both pastures and meadows. 
Brome grass, used for both meadows and pastures. 
Bermuda grass, likewise used for both purposes. 
Millets and sorghums, which are annual meadow grasses. 

Timothy 

166. Where and how Timothy is grown. — This plant 
occupies first place among the cultivated hay, or meadow 
grasses of the United States. It is grown largely in the 
states east of the Missouri River and north of the fortieth 
parallel, in the high parks of the Rocky Mountain region, 
and far northward even into Alaska. 



228 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



The seed is often mixed with a spring or fall small grain 
crop, called a nurse crop, from ten to twelve pounds being 
sown as a rule to the acre. The fall seeding is usually 
preferred. The crop takes possession of the ground after 
the small grain is harvested and is allowed to remain for 

two or more seasons. If clover is sown 
with the timothy, as is usually the case, 
the clover forms seed and disappears 
in the fall of the second year. After 
this the field is usually put into some 
other crop, though if this is not done, 
the growth the third year is nearly pure 
timothy as a rule. 

167. Advantages and Disadvantages 
of Timothy. — Since timothy is the lead- 
ing hay crop of America, we may look 
for it to possess a number of advantages 
over other similar crops. Among these 
are : 

(a) It becomes established more read- 
ily than other cultivated grasses. 

(b) It is easily harvested and quickly 
cured, thus escaping injury from rains. 

(c) The seed is cheap and easily 
procured. 

(d) It may be fed without fear of injurious results, 
making a palatable hay for horses, especially if cut at the 
proper time and carefully cured. 

(e) It is adapted to a wide range of soils and cHmates. 
(/) There is always a market demand for the hay. 

On the other hand, we often hear farmers offering the 
following objections to timothy : 
(a) It yields but one crop a year. 




Fig. 



97. — Timothy 
in flower. 



GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 229 

(6) It can not be pastured without injury to the suc- 
ceeding crop. 

(c) It is less nutritious than alfalfa or other legumes. 

(d) It exhausts the soil quickly of its supply of nitrogen. 

168. When to cut Timothy. — There are two things 
to consider in determining the time of cutting timothy : 




Fig. 98. 



Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Raking timothy hay. 



(1) the yield and quahty of the hay, and (2) the effect upon 
the succeeding crop. 

Let us consider the latter point first. 

A pecuhar characteristic of the timothy plant is that 
it stores food not alone in the seed but in the stem itself, 
in one or more internodes near the base. These inter- 
nodes, which become swollen, are called corms. The store 
of food which they contain is apparently used the follow- 
ing year in developing new stools, by means of which the 
plant is thickened. It follows that the plant should not 



230 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

be cut until a sufficient amount of food has been stored 
in the corms to provide for the later, spreading growth. 
This is usually not until the seed is in the dough stage, 
or when the purple stamens have all, or nearly all, dropped 
away. Cutting that is done earher than this very often 
results in injury to the succeeding timothy crop, this being 
especially true in dry seasons, or in regions of scant rain- 
fall. Examine some timothy plants at your first oppor- 
tunity while haying is going on and find the corms at the 
bases of the stems. If these corms are eaten by stock, the 
plants are, of course, injured, — ^ which means that timothy 
should not be pastured in the fall. 

The first point above, that of yield and quahty of the 
hay, is not in conflict with the second one just discussed. 
If cut too young, timothy will shrink badly ; but if it is 
allowed to become too ripe, the hay is woody and unde- 
sirable. Fortunately, at the time when the seed is just 
formed and in the dough stage, the corms contain enough 
nourishment to insure proper subsequent growth. 

Blue Grass 

169. The Character and Value of Blue Grass. — " Give 
blue grass credit for having fought its own way alone and 
unhelped. Without any aid of man, it came to the new 
clearing ; it grew about the cabin dooryard ; it carpeted 
the newly cleared pasture ; it enriched and beautified 
the roadside ; it held the clayey hillside and the animals 
cropped it and waxed fat. Not corn, not wheat, not 
tobacco, but blue grass, became the chief article of export 
from the Central West, going out disguised as beef, mutton, 
or pork, a large part of each being of its making. Of the 
millions of blue grass pastures in America, only a few have 
ever had seed of this grass sown upon them." ^ 

1 Wing's Meadows and Pastures. 



GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 231 

On lands rich in lime, particularly in the limestone 
regions of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, blue grass is 
at its best. The horses, cattle and sheep of those regions 
have long been famous. 




Fig. 99. — A blue grass pasture. 

170. The Seeding of Blue Grass. — When it becomes 
necessary or desirable to sow blue grass seed, the soil 
should be cultivated until a fine, firm seed bed is formed. 
The seed does not germinate as a rule unless at some time 
during the day or night, the temperature falls to near 
forty degrees Fahrenheit. It follows that seed should be 
sown in the cool, moist weather of spring or fall. As a 



232 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

matter of fact, it is usually sown with some other grass, 
which estabUshes itself quickly, but which the blue grass 
eventually crowds out. 

171. Advantages and Disadvantages of Blue Grass. — 

Among the advantages of blue grass the following may 
be named : 

(a) It starts to grow early in the spring and grows late 
in the fall. 

(6) It is highly nutritious and palatable. 

(c) It endures close pasturing, as well as clipping with 
the lawn mower, and hence it is an admirable grass for 
both pastures and lawns. 

(d) It is a persistent perennial. 

(e) It spreads rapidly, and it is a useful and beauti- 
ful grass along the roadsides and in open timber lands. 

(/) It cures well in the field and makes excellent winter 
pasture. 

Many farmers, however, object to blue grass, giving 
among their reasons the ones below : 

(a) It is shallow-rooted and dries up during the months 
of high temperatures and light rainfall, July and August. 
It is often of little value for pasture during these months. 

(h) It spreads rapidly and often crowds out timothy 
and clover. In Oregon, men complain that blue grass 
crowds out other grasses and then dies, itself, of drouth. 

(c) It is of little value for hay. 

(d) It does not become established as quickly when the 
seed is sown as do some other grasses, the time required 
often being two or three years, or even more. 

Redtop 

172. The Range and Character of Redtop. — Redtop 
grows as far south as Louisiana, and is a very important 



GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 233 

grass in Tennessee and northward to the New England 
states and Canada. In fact, it has the widest range of 
any cultivated grass in America. 

It resembles in a general way the Kentucky blue grass, 
but grows taller, blooms a month or more later, and has a 
narrower, more divided top. 

Like timothy, redtop may be sown with wheat in the 
fall, or it may be sown in the spring either alone or with 
a nurse crop of small grain. 

173. Its Advantages and Disadvantages. — Among the 
advantages of redtop may be mentioned those below : 

(a) It succeeds on poorer soils than does timothy. 

(b) It succeeds on wetter soils than does timothy. 

(c) It can be pastured after the hay is cut. 

The objections to it, which are commonly urged, are : 
(a) It does not make hay of the best quality. 
(6) It is not as easily established as timothy. 

(c) The seed is more expensive than timothy seed. 

(d) Stock do not find redtop as palatable as other 
grasses. 

Brome Grass 

One of the latest grasses introduced by the United 
States Department of Agriculture is brome grass, or 
hromus inermis. It has become an important crop in the 
West and Northwest where the summers are not excessively 
hot. It is valuable for both pasture and hay. It is one 
of the first grasses to start in the spring, grows late in the 
fall, comes on quickly after rains following dry weather, 
and is exceedingly palatable. These are among its 
advantages. 

On the other hand, the seed is expensive and liable to be 
mixed with that of quack grass. Like other grasses, it 



234 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



exhausts the soil, and when sown with clovers, tends to 
crowd them out. Moreover, it tends to form too dense a 

sod even when sown alone, be- 
coming ''sod bound," and this 
eventually reduces the yield. 
And furthermore, it is not an 
easy grass to eradicate when we 
wish to put the land into some 
other crop. 

Bermuda Grass 

174. The Range and Char- 
acter of Bermuda Grass. — In 
the southern part of the United 
States where Kentucky blue 
grass does not thrive, Bermuda 
grass is extensively grown. It 
withstands the hottest weather, 
endures drouth, and is valuable 
for both pastures and meadows. 
Moreover, it is the principal 
lawn grass of the South. 

While this grass maybe grown 
from the seed, the latter is ex- 
pensive and the results uncer- 
tain. Hence the usual method 
is to scatter or to set out in rows pieces of fresh sod on 
the prepared soil and to cover them lightly with earth. 

175. Advantages and Disadvantages of Bermuda 
Grass. — Bermuda grass has many advantages for the 
southern farmer, among them being those given below : 

(a) It succeeds in sections where the summers are very 
hot and often dry as in Oklahoma and Texas. 




Fig. 100. 



- Panicle of brome 
grass. 



GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 235 



(6) It makes a soft, tough sod, for which reason it is 
often called the blue grass of the South. 

(c) It binds the soil together, thus preventing erosion 
by wind and water. 

(d) It stands graz- 
ing well — the closer 
the better, in fact, on 
rich land. 

(e) It succeeds on 
poor soils, though it 
responds quickly to 
feeding with barnyard 
manure. 

The principal ob- 
jections to the cultivation of Bermuda grass are : 

(a) The foUage is easily killed by frosts, while severe 
freezing often kills the roots. 

(b) It will not endure shade, and hence is of httle value 
among trees or where tall weeds are allowed to grow. 

(c) It is difficult to eradicate when once it becomes 
thoroughly established in a field. 




Fig. 101. 



Courtesy Brttatra' GaztUt. 
A Bermuda grass plant. 



Millets and Sorghums 

In certain parts of the semiarid West and Southwest 
where the perennial grasses do not succeed well, the annual 
grasses are the chief source of forage. By cultivating the 
land carefully, the moisture is caught and retained in the 
soil. Millet or sorghum is then drilled into the seed bed 
with the result that the seeds germinate quickly and the 
plants mature in favorable years before the driest part of 
the season comes on. 

These crops are not among the so-called drouth resistant 
ones, such as Kafir corn and milo maize. On account of 
their early maturity, however, they are valuable in the 



236 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

regions of little rainfall. Moreover, they are used for 
forage to a limited extent in the humid sections. 

176. Where each Grass thrives. — It is apparent 
from our study thus far that each grass has its own pecul- 
iar range which should be recognized by farmers generally. 

In the Corn Belt and eastward, when a meadow crop is 
desired, fertile land that is well drained should be put into 
timothy. If the land is not well drained, redtop thrives 
better. If a pasture grass is wanted, however, Kentucky 
blue grass is easily the first choice. 

In the gulf states, Bermuda grass is preeminent, while 
redtop is also grown. 

Brome grass is extensively grown in the states of the 
Northwest because of its peculiar adaptation to the 
chmate and soil. 

In the western parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, 
Texas and New Mexico, as well as in other dry farming 
regions, annual grasses, such as millet or sorghum, take 
the place of perennial grasses. 

For lawns, Kentucky blue grass is the best where it 
can be grown ; but in the South, Bermuda grass must be 
used instead. 

177. Why Clovers should be grown with the Grasses. — ■ 

Grasses feed largely upon nitrogen, notwithstanding 
they do not have the means of taking this element from 
the air as do the clovers. If red clover, then, is sown with 
timothy, we find that the yield of timothy is ordinarily 
increased, since the grass obtains a part of the nitrogen 
which the bacteria on the clover roots gather from the air. 
In the same way, burr, or white clover, sown with Bermuda 
grass, causes the latter to thrive better than when sown 
alone ; and brome grass succeeds much better when sown 
with alfalfa. There are few other classes of plants which 



GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 237 

succeed so well together as do the clovers and grasses. 
Moreover, the hay produced is more desirable than 
that of either grasses or clovers alone, since it is more 
nutritious than the former and cures much better than . 
the latter. 

There is, however, another still more important reason 
why clovers or some other legumes should be grown with 
the grasses ; viz., it is our cheapest and most effective 
means of preventing the exhaustion of nitrogen from the 
soil. It is a matter of the utmost importance to maintain 
this supply of nitrogen for the reasons given in Section 110. 
To accomplish this under ordinary farm conditions, 
legumes must be grown in the rotation (Section 140) ; and 
there is no time in the rotation when clovers can be con- 
veniently grown save with the grasses. 

We may say then that it is always better to grow clovers 
with the grasses in the rotation. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Describe briefly the characteristics of the grass family. 
2." Name six cultivated grasses and state the purpose or 
purposes for which each is grown. 

3. Name fom' advantages and three disadvantages of 
timothy. 

4. When should timothy be cut for hay, and why ? 

5. Name the advantages and disadvantages of Kentucky 
blue grass. 

6. In what part of the country is redtop grown and in what 
soils will it succeed? 

7. What is the usual method of propagating Bermuda 
grass ? 

8. In what sections are the millets and sorghums found most 
valuable, and why ? 

9. State where each of the cultivated grasses is chiefly grown. 
10. State three reasons why clovers should be grown with the 

grasses. 



CHAPTER XIX 
CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 

One of the most interesting and useful families of the 
whole plant kingdom is the Leguminosse, to which the 
locust trees, alfalfa, red clover, sweet clover, vetches, peas, 
beans and other plants belong. In recent years, the term 
legume has been used principally in referring only to 
those members of the family which are. cultivated in fields 
and are therefore of agricultural importance. 

178. Characteristics of the Legumes. — Leguminous 
plants, which are dicotyledons, have many lateral roots, 
which branch from one tap root. 

The stems vary from prostrate to trailing, climbing or 
erect. 

The leaves have one central vein with many finer ones 
branching from it, giving the appearance referred to as 
netted veined. They are usually round or oval and are 
arranged spirally about the stem. 

Nearly all legumes have rather showy flowers, which 
attract bees and thus secure cross-fertilization. The 
form of the flowers helps to distinguish them. Taking 
the pea as an example, the largest petal, which is upper- 
most, is called the standard. Below this are two petals, 
one on either side, known as wings, while the two united 
petals below the wings form what is called the keel. Have 
you ever noticed that the oddly shaped flower of the pea 
resembles very closely that of the sweet clover, or that the 
head of red clover really consists of a group, or mass, of 

238 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



239 



similarly shaped flowers? This peculiar shape is seen in 
the flowers of all legumes. 

The seed is borne usually in a pod, to the side of which 
it is attached, as in the bean or pea. The seeds, like the 
flowers, are pecuHar in 
shape, resembUng usually 
an ordinary bean, but in 
some cases they are more 
rounded, like the pea. 
The taste of all raw legu- 
minous seeds is surpris- 
ingly the same. 

By comparing the 
points which we have just 
mentioned 'with those of 
the grasses as given in 
Section 162, you will see 
how radically the two 
classes of plants differ. 

179. How Legumes 
benefit the Farmer. — The 
value of these crops to 
the soil and to the farmer 
may be stated as follows : 

(1) They add nitrogen to the soil. 

(2) The roots open the soil to a great depth. 

(3) They add humus to the soil. 

(4) They make other plant food available. 

(5) Because of the large amount of protein which they 
contain, they are valuable in balancing the rations of both 
animals and man. 

(6) They assist by means of rotation in the control of 
insects and fungous pests. 




Fig. 102. — Pea blossoms. 



240 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



180. How Legumes add Nitrogen to the SoU. — Legumes 
and soil fertility are inseparable. Farmers have known for 
ages that legumes enriched the soil, but it is only in recent 
years that the reasons for this have been discovered. 

On the roots of practically all legumes are found peculiar, 
whitish knot-Kke bodies, which were long a puzzle to 

scientists, since they 
seemed to have no pur- 
pose nor function, yet 
were known to be 
necessary to the best 
growth of the plants. 
At length, however, 
the puzzle was solved. 
These bodies, which 
are called nodules, and 
which vary in size from 
that of a pin point to 
that of a pea, are the 
homes of friendly bac- 
teria, which gather ni- 
trogen from the soil 
air and convert it into 
plant food. A part of 
this food is used by the 
growing legume, but 
much of it is returned to the soil and used by the crop 
which is grown upon the land after the clover is plowed 
under. 

It sometimes happens that these nodules do not form 
on the roots of legumes. This may be due to the absence 
of the necessary bacteria in the soil ; and unless they are 
introduced, neither the clover nor the succeeding crops 
will thrive as they should. 




U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Fig. 103. — Nodules on roots of red 
clover. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



241 



181. How Roots of Legumes open the SoU. — It is a 
well established fact that legumes almost invariably 
leave fields in better condition than they find them. This 
is unquestionably due in part to their deep rooting habit. 
Red clover roots may penetrate the soil to a depth of 
several feet while alfalfa roots have been found thirty 
feet below the surface 

of the ground. 

When these roots 
decay, the soil is opened 
to the passage of both 
air and water, while 
the humus made by 
the decaying roots is 
a valuable addition to 
the soil. 

182. How Legumes 
add Humus to the 
SoiL — The roots of 
legumes are not the 
only valuable part of 
these plants. Clovers, 
cowpeas, or other leg- 
umes may be plowed under, or they may be fed to 
animals and the manure returned to the land with the 
result in either case that the store of humus in the soil is 
largely increased. 

183. How Legumes make other Plant Food Available. 
— It is apparent that the long roots of the legumes must 
bring up plant food from considerable depths, and that 
when they decay, this w^U be Hberated and thus become 
available to the shallows-rooted cereals. Aside from this, 
however, the decay of the humus, which these plants 

R 




Courtesy Iowa State College. 

Fig. 104. — Roots of young alfalfa extend 
deep into the soil. 



242 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

leave in the soil, produces substances which tend to dis- 
solve mineral elements that are otherwise insoluble. 

184. How Legumes balance the Food Ration. — Corn 
and other grains, used for fattening the animals which yield 
our meat supply, are generally rich in carbohydrates, which 
are heat-producing materials, but lacking in proteins, or 
tissue building foods. (Sections 67 and 94.) The seeds, 
stems and leaves of the legumes are rich in proteins and 
therefore are used to balance the rations of our Hve stock. 

In the same way, beans and peas are important articles 
of food for man since they contain an unusually high 
proportion of proteins. 

185. How Legumes assist in the Control of Insects and 
Fungous Pests. — Leguminous crops are not subject to 
the attack of the same classes of insects and fungous 
diseases as are cereals. 

Those enemies, which have been present in a field of 
corn or wheat, must largely disappear when the land is 
occupied by clover. 

186. Where the Different Legumes grow. — There is 
no place in the United States where one or more varieties 
of legumes will not thrive if the soil and moisture condi- 
tions are right. 

Let us in fancy go to the Gulf of Mexico, and, joining 
hands in a line from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, 
travel northward to the Canadian line, finding out what 
we can that is interesting and instructive about legumes. 

Along the Gulf, and extending northward almost to 
the Ohio River, we shall find the little Japan clover on 
both poor and rich soils, but more abundantly on the poor 
soils where the perennial grasses will not thrive. On the 
river bottom land, subject even to an occasional overflow, 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



243 



we may find it as tall as two feet. We will find that it is 
sometimes cut for hay, occasionally yielding as much as 
three tons per acre ; that animals relish it and thrive upon 




Fig. 105. — Field of crimson clover. 



it ; and that the soil becomes richer year Vjy year where it 
is grown. 

We shall find, too, that progressive planters in these 



244 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 




Fig. 106. — Cowpeas planted in corn to make silage. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



245 



gulf states are sowing crimson clover in their cotton and 

corn at the last cultivation. This wonderful crop will 

then occupy the ground after the cotton or corn has been 

removed, will furnish 

excellent forage for 

sheep, pigs, and calves, 

will grow during the 

mild southern winter?, 

stop the leaching of 

the nitrogen by the 

rains of winter, bloom 

in the early spring, 

and stand ready to be 

plowed under to make 

the soil fertile for 

another crop. It can 

not, however, be safely 

fed as hay after the 

heads begin to ripen as 

they are coarse, harsh, 

and often injurious. 

Those interested per- 
sons toward the east of 
the line will doubtless 
pass along the word 
that they find the 
cowpea growing in a 
variety of places and 
that it is doing won- 
ders in adding fertility 

to the soil. They find it in fields with oats, either to be 
used as hay or to become a pasture for hogs. They find 
it sown after the regular crop has been removed. They 
find it frequently sown in corn at the last cultivation and 




Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Fig. 107. — An alfalfa plant. 



246 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



making use of the land after the corn is mature ; or it may 
instead be harvested with the corn, in which case most 
excellent silage is secured. This crop is grown not only in 
Florida and Alabama but westward to central Texas and 
northward to the Ohio River. Here it meets the field pea, 
or the Canada field pea, as it is often called, which grows 
northward into Canada. 

Here and there through the gulf states, we shall find 
growing that queen of all legumes, alfalfa. The most 




Fig. 108. — Sweet clover growing along a limestone road. 

enthusiastic reports regarding it along the whole line, 
however, will come from those of our number who go into 
the fertile, irrigated valleys of the Southwest. There they 
will find this deep-rooted perennial crop producing from 
four to six cuttings of hay a year and making a richer, more 
palatable feed as well as a heavier yield than any of 
the other legumes anywhere. Owing to the fact that its 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



247 



roots penetrate so deeply into the earth, alfalfa will be 
found growing not alone on the irrigated land, but on 
land on which no water is placed and where the rainfall 
is even as low as eighteen inches a year. Indeed, it is in 
regions of scant rainfall that it produces its best seed, 
though the hay crop is light. 

As we move northward, we find still the wonderful 
fields of alfalfa. Colorado fields are far-famed, more 
than one half of the area in hay in that state being in 
alfalfa. A smaller amount of the crop will be found in 
Wyoming, and even 
less in Montana, for 
alfalfa is naturally 
adapted to a warm, 
dry climate. 

In the northward 
movement of our line 
of young investigators, 
none will encounter 
more of this splendid 
crop than those who 
pass through Kansas 
and Nebraska. Here whole valleys, as the Arkansas, the 
Kaw, the Solomon, the Little Beaver and the Platte are 
given over largely to the production of alfalfa hay and 
seed. 

That part of our line eastward from the Missouri 
River will find that in the CaroHnas and Virginia, in 
Pennsylvania and New York, some alfalfa is grown and 
successfully; that in Ohio, Indiana, lUinois and Iowa 
the cultivation of this crop is rapidly increasing as its 
needs become better known to the farmers ; and that 
even in Minnesota and the Dakotas, a hardy variety, 
known as the Grimm alfalfa, is being extensively grown. 




Fig. 109. 



Courtesy Iowa State College. 
A red clover plant. 



248 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Along the highways, on stony hillsides, in neglected 
places, and here and there in cultivated fields from Ala- 
bama to Wyoming, and from California to New Jersey, 
we find a once rejected plant that is now coming to be 
recognized as one of the farmer's truest friends. It is 
sweet clover, — and it is not a weed. Rather it is a valu- 
able forage and pasture crop when stock have once learned 
to eat it. It is a wonder worker for the soil and it yields 
honey for the bees. In barren, neglected tobacco fields, 
in stiff clayey irrigation land, and indeed in nearly any 




Fig. 110. — The white clover. 



soil that is rich in lime, even though it be lacking other- 
wise in fertility, sweet clover thrives and prepares the 
way for other crops. 

When the portion of the fine, which is following up 
the Mississippi River, reaches the junction of that river 
with the Missouri, they will find the red clover, which most 
of us know and love so well, coming into its own. 
Westward they will find it to Kansas, eastward, to the 
coast, and northward, to the Canadian fine. Those in the 
far West will also find it on the Pacific coast north of 
California. Red clover, good farmers will tell you, are 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



249 



other words for better agriculture, since it not only fits 
into the crop rotation, but it is easily and quickly estab- 
lished and makes an excellent forage for live stock. 

Throughout this same region and extending to some 
distance northward, the little white, or Dutch clover is 
found. In fact it has 
a wider range than 
that indicated, but it 
is in this region that 
it is best known. It is 
a low, creeping clover ; 
and as we soon dis- 
cover, it is an unfailing 
sign of a fertile soil. 

In this same region, 
we find still another 
clover, a plant, which, 
because it resembles 
both red and white 
clovers, is thought by 
many to be a cross be- 
tween the two. It is 
known as alsike. We find it on the lower, wetter grounds 
and on those poorer in lime. It differs from the white 
clover in that it becomes tall enough to cut for hay, 
though we find it used principally in pastures. ^ 

There are still some other legumes of rather less im- 
portance that our line of investigators will doubtless have 
found. Among these is the soy bean, which thrives 
throughout the Corn Belt and southward, the peanut, and 
the vetches, the latter being found all over the South 
and even as far north as New York. 

Notwithstanding the fact that legumes are held in 
high esteem by farmers everywhere and must in the future 




Fig. 111. — An alsike clover plant. 



250 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



come to be grown more and more in order to keep up the 
fertility of the soil, it is still true that these crops are as 
a class difficult to raise and that the percentage of seedings 

which fail is discour- 
agingly high. Let us 
seek out then if we 
may some of the prin- 
cipal causes of these 
failures. 



187. Why Clovers 
frequently fail. — 
There are at least 
seven causes of the 
clover failures which 
seem to be growing 
more and more numer- 
ous throughout the 
leading grain states : 

(1) The soil has be- 
come deficient in lime, 
and because of this 
may, in fact, be acid. 

(2) The soil is lack- 
ing in phosphorus, 

(3) The soil is lack- 
ing in humus. 




Fig. 112. — Some vines of hairy vetch. 



(4) The soil does not contain friendly bacteria. 

(5) The nurse crop is not suited to the needs of the young 
clover. 

(6) The seeding, or sowing, is not properly done. 

(7) Drouths of midsummer or other unfavorable 
weather conditions may cause the death of the young 
plants. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



251 




o 
a 
o 

w 

CI 

s 



3 
O 



a 
a 



a; 
> 
o 

O 



CO 



2 

r^ 



■v. 



252 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

188. How Acid Soil affects Clovers. — Under the sys- 
tem of farming generally practiced in the United States, 
the soil gradually becomes acid, or sour. We can not, 
of course, perceive this change in the soil with our senses ; 
and since it comes so slowly, and its effect on cereal crops 
is not readily seen, it may remain unsuspected for a 
considerable time, sometimes even for several years. 

The clovers generall}^ are singularly sensitive to this 
acid condition of the soil ; and often the first indication 
we have of it is their feeble and uncertain growth in 
fields where it seems that they should thrive. 

The truth is that it is impossible to grow red clover, 
sweet clover, alfalfa, or certain other legumes success- 
fully in an acid soil. How long they can survive in it 
even depends chiefly upon how strongly acid the soil 
may be. Thus if the acidity is only very slight, the young 
clover plants may be only somewhat weakened, rather 
than killed ; and the crop ma}^ even mature, though the 
growth will not be vigorous. If, however, a little more 
acid is present, the little plants will grow still more weakly ; 
and because of this weakened state, they readily succumb 
to unfavorable climatic conditions, such as drouth, or 
perhaps extreme cold, later, in which case the failure is 
commonly attributed to drouth or winterkilling as the 
sole cause. It is merely a matter, then, of the degree of 
acidity as to what the effect upon the clovers will be ; 
and if the soil is strongly acid, we find, just as we should 
expect, that the little plants usually die soon after the 
germination of the seed. 

It is not at all difficult to detect acidity in the soil. 
If a slip of blue litmus paper, such as we used in Exer- 
cise 28, is placed in a cup of acid soil which has been 
made wet with soft water, it will gradually change in 
color, becoming tinged with pink. Let us make some 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 253 

tests of this kind and learn if there is any acid soil in the 
fields near by. 

EXERCISE 49 

Object. — To ascertain if the soils in our fields at home 
or in other fields near the schoolhouse are acid. 

Procedure. — Bring to the schoolhouse, wrapped in a 
clean paper, about a pint of soil from a field at home. 
If it is taken from one in which clover has frequently 
failed, so much the better. This soil should not be taken 
up or handled with the hands, but with a small paddle 
or shovel instead. Since other members of the class 
will also bring samples, there will be a number to be 
tested for acidity, and they should be marked or numbered 
to prevent their becoming confused. 

Procure, if possible, as many clean cups, glasses or 
cans as you have samples of soil. Put a sample into 
each cup, filling it about three-fourths full. Then add 
soft water while you stir it with a small stick until a stiff 
mud has been formed. 

Now open a slit in this mud with a knife blade, insert 
a slip of blue litmus paper, and close the wet soil against 
the paper tightly with the fingers. Insert the litmus 
slips in the other samples in the same way. Allow them 
to remain in the wet soil for about an hour ; then remove 
the slips, dip them in soft w^ater to rinse off the dirt, 
and note the color of each one. 

If any given slip is still blue, the soil is not acid ; if 
it is very faintly pink, you will know that the soil is 
slightly acid ; and if it is distinctly pink, the soil is strongly 
acid. 

Conclusion. — Write in your notebook the results of 
the test of each sample, stating first the field from which 
it came and then its condition as shown by the litmus 
paper. 



254 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

In making a litmus paper test to ascertain whether 
clover will probably grow in a given field, we do not 
usually follow the above method since it is necessary to 
make many tests in different parts of the field. This 
is due to the fact that the soil may be acid in some places 
but not so in others. 

The test of an entire field may be made in this manner : 

Go into the field after a rather light rain while the 
soil is in the form of a stiff mud about like putty. If 
the test is made after a heavy rain, some of the acids 
may have been washed out of the soil, and this will in- 
terfere temporarily with the test. 

Beginning at some point in one corner of the field, cut 
a sht in the soil with a knife blade and insert a slip of 
blue litmus paper to a depth of from one to three inches, 
pressing the wet soil firmly against it. Repeat this 
process at other points about ten rods apart each way 
all over the field, marking each place by a stake. 

After an hour or more, go over the field again, carry- 
ing a small pail of soft water, in which to rinse the slips 
of paper as they are dug from the ground. 

Since some parts of the field are liable to be more 
strongly acid than others, it is better to carry a plat of 
the field, showing the location of each test, and to record 
the results on it as the slips are dug up and examined. 
It is important to have this information when we get 
ready to correct this acidity in the soil by the method 
which we shall shortly learn. 

It should be understood that soil acidity may or may 
not extend to the subsoil below. 

189. How a Lack of Phosphorus affects Clovers. — 

In many parts of the eastern states, as well as in some 
sections of the Middle West, the soil is deficient in phos- 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 255 

phorus. Moreover, in practically all parts of the United 
States which are given over chiefly to grain and stock 
farming, the supply of phosphorus in the soil is being 
gradually reduced. 

Just as clovers will not succeed in an acid soil, so they 
will not thrive in a soil deficient in phosphorus. When 
any given farm or agricultural section has reached the 
stage at which phosphorus is lacking in the soil the suc- 
cessful growing of clovers has because of this fact become 
impossible until this element of plant food is restored in 
some form to the soil whether as barnyard manure or 
commercial fertiUzers. 

190. How a Lack of Humus affects Clovers. — Con- 
trary to the popular behef, legumes, and particularly 
clovers, with the exception of sweet clover, are not crops for 
soils lacking in organic matter. It is a difficult task to 
get clover established on such soils; and good farmers 
often tell us to add manure or otherwise increase the 
humus content of the ground before sowing clover or 
alfalfa. 

A motto which might well be painted on the grain 
drill is, '' Legumes are to be used on this farm to main- 
tain fertility, not as a remedy for abused or ill-treated 
soil." 

191. How Absence of Friendly Bacteria afiEects the 
Clovers. — The cardinal virtue of the legumes is that 
they leave more nitrogen in the soil than they find. This 
they can not do, however, unless the necessary friendly 
bacteria make their homes in the root nodules as explained 
in Section 180. 

Unless the soil already contains the particular kind 
of bacteria needed by a given legume, the bacteria must 



256 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

be placed in the ground by the farmer before the legume 
can be successfully grown. This is known as inoculation. 

192. How the Nurse Crop may affect Clovers. — We 

should keep in mind the fact that clovers are commonly 
sown in the rotation with a small grain, after the removal 
of which they take possession of the ground as stated in 
Section 140. This nurse crop of small grain is not, as its 
name might be taken to indicate, a help to the young 
clover plants, but is often very much a hindrance instead. 

While there are many good reasons for this practice, 
it is still true that it is open to some serious objections. 

Thus we have found that the small grains, which are 
shallow-rooted, demand a seed bed that is firm and com- 
pact save near the surface. This is not true of the clovers 
generally, since, owing to their long tap roots, a seed bed 
that is loose and mellow to considerable depth is better 
suited to their needs. 

Aside from this, it is known that if oats are used as a 
nurse crop, as is frequently the case, they almost com- 
pletely exclude the sunlight from the young clover plants, 
making healthy, vigorous growth impossible, and moreover 
they take nearly all the moisture and available plant 
food from the seed bed. It follows that when the nurse 
crop is finally harvested and the dehcate plants, which 
have made top growth at the expense of root growth, are 
suddenly exposed, without a proper supply of moisture, 
to the direct rays of the hot midsummer sun, they must 
suffer severely if, indeed, they do not succumb. 

The same result must follow in case any other small 
grain is used as a nurse crop if the stand is too dense. 

193. How the Method of Seeding may affect Clovers. — 
It is a rather common practice to sow clover seed on the 
surface of the ground and to harrow or to disc it in. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 257 

The inevitable result is that some of the seeds are covered 
very deeply while others are hardly covered at all. 

Some, of course, will be covered to a proper depth, 
and these may be expected to grow normally. Not so, 
however, with the others. The seeds which are on or 
very near the surface usually fail to germinate because 
of lack of moisture, while those which are too deeply 
covered fail to reach the surface because of an insufficient 
store of food in the small seeds. 

194. How Drouth may affect Young Clovers. Just 
how hardy the normal, healthy young clover plant really 
is as regards its abihty to endure drouth and the heat 
of the sun in midsummer, — or even the severe freezing 
of winter — is an important question that has not been 
satisfactorily settled. Many regard the Uttle clover 
plants as exceptionally weak and delicate, and hence 
unable to withstand such adverse conditions as those 
named. Others maintain, and with a show of reason, 
that the young clover is in truth sufficiently hardy to 
survive and estabhsh itself under these severe conditions 
if other conditions are right; i.e., if the seed has been 
properly sown in a soil which is not acid, which contains 
enough humus and enough phosphorus to permit healthy 
growth, and which contains the particular kind of bacteria 
that are necessary to the development of the plant. 

While we can not say that the loss of young clover 
from drouth or other unfavorable weather condition is 
actually preventable simply by making other conditions 
right, it is unquestionably true that such losses may be 
largely prevented in this way, especially in those sections 
where drouths are of comparatively short duration. 

Losses may be ascribed to unfavorable weather con- 
ditions only after all other conditions have been made favorable, 

3 



258 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

195. How to succeed with Clovers. — The farmer who 
would succeed in growing these virtuous crops, which 
maintain the fertihty of his lands and at the same time 
yield nutritious forage for his animals, must see to it 
that the causes of failure are, in so far as it is within his 
power to do so, removed. It follows that : 

(1) If the soil is acid, the acidity must be corrected. 

(2) If it is deficient in phosphorus or humus, these 
must be added to it. 

(3) If the necessary bacteria are absent from the soil, 
it must be inoculated. 

(4) A suitable nurse crop must be used. 

(5) The seed must be planted at the proper depth in a 
well-prepared seed bed and uniformly covered. 




Fig. 114. — Applying limestone to the land. 

196. How to correct an Acid SoiL — An acid soil 
may be corrected by the addition of crushed limestone 
to it. 

This is one of the most abundant rocks found in Nature. 
It is used not only for making hme, but very commonly 
for foundations of houses, cellar walls, etc. 

When this rock is used to correct the acidity of the soil, 
at least half of it should be in the form of fine powder, or 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 259 

dust. It may be applied with a special machine made 
for this purpose, or with a manure spreader, the crushed 
stone being put on top of a layer of manure. 

If the soil is only slightly acid, from two to three tons 
per acre are appHed ; if it is strongly acid, the application 
should be increased to five or six tons, or even more, as 
no harm results from using more than is necessary. The 
only rehable way to determine the amount required is 
to make trial of the different rates of apphcation. It 
should be disced or harrowed into the surface soil but not 
plowed under. 

If crushed Umestone can not be procured, Ume of any 
kind may be used. In such case, the application may be 
not more than half as great as if Umestone were used; 
and, except in the case of air slaked Ume, it should not 
be allowed to come into contact with plants, as injury may 
result. 

197. How to add Humus and Phosphorus to the Soil. — 

In soils that have long been cultivated without a careful 
system of rotation, humus is deficient ; and unless phos- 
phorus has been apphed to the soil, it is probably lacking 
also. Humus may be added to the land by plowing under 
green crops ; or both humus and phosphorus may be 
added to it by the apphcation of barnyard manure. If the 
latter is used, it is advisable to apply with it pulverized 
rock phosphate, or floats. 

At least ten tons of manure should be apphed to each acre 
and not less than five hundred pounds per acre of floats. 

198. How Bacteria are added to the SoiL — The soil 
from a field in which any clover is established and thriving, 
contains very many of the bacteria which are necessary 
to that crop. 



260 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

By taking some of the soil found in such a field at a 
depth of from two to six inches and scattering it uniformly 
at the rate of about three hundred pounds per acre over 
another field in which we wish to raise the same crop, we 
may easily introduce the bacteria needed by the clover 
that we expect to grow. 

Since these bacteria die quickly when exposed to direct 
sunlight, it is necessary to scatter the soil containing them 
on a cloudy day or in the evening, and it should be har- 
rowed or disced in immediately. 

This inoculation is not necessary as a rule in growing 
certain clovers because the particular bacteria needed 
are already in the soil. However, in the case of alfalfa 
east of the Missouri River, it is very frequently a matter 
of the utmost importance. 

199. The most Suitable Nurse Crops for Clovers. — 

As was shown in Section 192, oats are not a suitable nurse 
crop for clovers. 

Winter wheat and rye are perhaps the most desirable 
small grain crops to use for this purpose since they do 
not wholly exclude the sunhght and are removed from the 
ground early in the season. Spring wheat and barley 
are more objectionable, but these crops are still to be 
preferred to oats. 

The rate of seeding of the nurse crop should not be in any 
case more than two thirds of what it would be if the 
clover were not sown ; and it is better yet if only a half 
the usual amount of seed is used, as the thinner stand will 
admit more sunlight to the young clover plants. 

If it is found necessary to use oats as a nurse crop, the 
stand should not only be very thin, but the oats should 
be cut for hay as soon as the kernels are in the milk 
stage. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 261 

200. How the Seed should be planted. — The seed 
bed in which clover is to be sown should be disced and 
harrowed repeatedly until the surface soil is finely pul- 
verized. It is a serious mistake to sow clover seed in 
cornstalk ground, which has been disced but once, or 
even twice, if it has been left in a rough and cloddy 
condition. 

It is apparent that the seed should not only be planted 
at a proper depth but at a uniform depth as well. This 
can be accomphshed only by means of the drill. As in the 
case of other seeds, clover seed should be planted as 
shallow as the conditions which govern germination will 
permit. 

201. Seed Selection and Analysis. — Before we take 
up a more or less detailed study of how to grow the various 
legumes, let us consider briefly the importance of seed 
selection and analysis. 

Comparatively few of the many noxious weeds which 
infest our grain fields, meadows and pastures, are natives 
of America. Instead they have come into our country 
for the most part in agricultural seeds, as explained in 
Section 37. 

State and national laws require certain standards of 
purity, that is, it is required that not more than a given 
percentage of certain specified weed seeds may be present 
in agricultural seeds sold within the state. 

Just how pure a sample of seeds is in this respect may 
be determined in a very simple manner, the process being 
known as seed analysis. This work may be done at home. 
It avoids the necessity of sending seed away to be ex- 
amined, and often detects impurities which might not 
otherwise be brought to the attention of farmers or of 
the authorities. 



262 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



EXERCISE 50 

Object. — To determine the percentage of good seeds, 
of weed seeds, and of other impurities in a sample of clover 
or alfalfa seed. 

Procedure. — Procure a handful of seed from the top 
of a sack or other large sample of clover or alfalfa seed, 
another from the middle of the sack, and still another 




Fig. 115. — Detecting the weed seeds. 



from the bottom. Mix the three handfuls thoroughly 
and then dip out a rounding teaspoonful. Spread this 
out on a sheet of white paper, and with the aid of a hand 
lens, separate the good seed into one pile and the impuri- 
ties into another. Now separate the weed seeds, each 
kind being placed in a small pile, and the shriveled clover 
seed, the dirt and the chaff together in another pile. 
Identify each kind of weed seed, referring if necessary 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



263 



to, your collection made as required in Section 38 ; or the 
illustrations in Figure 116 may help you in this work. 

By referring to the table which follows, you can de- 
termine the percentage of each particular weed seed in 
your sample. For example, suppose you find thirty seeds 




'4 ^ 



Fig. 116. — Seeds of some of the common weeds (many times en- 
larged) . 

1, Bracted plantain; 2, black seeded plantain; 3, ragweed; 4, ox- 
eye daisy; 5, red clover; 6, catmint; 7, crab grass; 8, field dodder; 
5, sorrel; 10, dog fennel; 11, chickweed ; 12, lamb's quarter; 13, green 
foxtail; 14, prickly sida ; 15, vervain; 16, madder; 17, yellow foxtail ; 
18, clover dodder ; 19, heal-all ; 20, yellow trefoil ; ^i, spurge ; 22, curled 
dock ; 23, lady's thumb ; 24 and 29, buckhorn, showing two faces ; 25, 
mustard ; 26, alsike ; 27, ox-tongue ; 28, pigweed ; 29, buckhorn ; 30, 
Canada thistle ; 5^, campion; 3^, wild geranium ; 55, peppergrass ; 34, 
camomile ; 35, mallow. 

of buckhorn. According to the table, fifty-seven seeds 
of this weed make one per cent of a teaspoonful of clover 
or alfalfa seed. Therefore you have thirty fifty-sevenths, 
or .526 of one per cent of buckhorn in your sample. If 
any particular weed seed found in your sample does not 



264 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

appear in the table, compare it with one as nearly the 
same size as possible, estimating the number that should 
be equal to one per cent. 

Determine in this way the percentage of each kind of 
weed seed, and estimate the percentage of dirt and chaff. 

It is necessary next to make a germination test of the 
sample. Procure two pie plates or dinner plates and a piece 
of clean, boiled muslin four or five inches wide and about 
eighteen inches long. Dip the muslin in water and wring 
it out. Then double it once, lay one end in one of the 
plates, scatter one hundred average seeds on it, fold over 
the muslin again so as to cover the seeds. Lay the other 
plate upside down on this one. The muslin should not 
protrude from between them ; and they should fit as 
closely as possible so that little moisture will escape. 

The plates should now be set away while the seeds 
germinate. However, the upper one should be lifted off 
every day or two to make sure that the muslin has not 
become dry. If it has done so, add water drop by drop 
until it is well moistened but not saturated. 

At the end of a week, open the cloth and examine the 
seeds. You will doubtless find that most of them have 
germinated, but that some which look perfectly sound and 
good have not done so, while still others are shriveled or 
discolored, showing that they are incapable of germina- 
tion. The second class, those which appear good but have 
not germinated, are known as hard seeds. It is generally 
considered that one half of them would probably ger- 
minate in the soil, but that the remainder would not do 
so. In determining, then, the percentage of germinable, 
or viable, seeds, we count those that have actually ger- 
minated and add to this number one half of the hard seeds, 
and the remaining seeds are regarded as non-germinable. 

Conclusion. — Make a copy of the following form in 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 265 

your notebook and place there a record of the analysis of 
your sample by substituting the right names and numbers : 

Record of Seed Analysis 

Kind of seed Red Clover 

Secured from John Jones 

Percentage of pure seed 95.237 

Percentage of weed seeds 3.133 

Percentage of dirt and inert matter L630 

Weed seed present : 

Buckhorn 0.526 

Curled dock L3 

Pigweed 0.2 

Peppergrass 0.05 

Foxtail 1.054 

Crab grass 0.003 

Total 3.133 

Percentage of germinable seeds 91 

Percentage of non-germinable seeds . . 9 

Date of Analysis William Brown, Analyst. 

202. Table of Weed Seed Weights. — In the first 
column of numbers below is given the number of seeds of 
each of the common weeds, required to make one per cent 
of a rounded teaspoonf ul of clover or alfalfa seed ; in the 
second column are the numbers of seeds of the respective 
weeds required to make one per cent of a sample of the 
same size of timothy or millet seed : 

Velvet leaf 5 4 

Quack grass 20 16 

Tumbleweed 135 110 

Small ragweed 20 16 

Wild mustard 24 19 

Black mustard 62 48 

Lambsquarter 72 57 

Canada thistle 45 36 

Wild carrot 63 50 

Smooth crab grass 192 155 



266 ^OILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Crab grass 185 142 

Barnyard grass 62 48 

Morning glory 2 1.6 

Peppergrass 125 100 

Tickle grass 125 100 

Bracted plantain 36 28 

Buckhorn 57 46 

Plantain Ill 89 

Black bindweed 11 9 

Pennsylvania smartweed 10 8 

Sheep sorrel 10 8 

Curled dock 36 29 

Russian thistle 65 53 

Yellow foxtail 39 32 

Green foxtail 63 52 

Vervain 24 20^ 

203. Methods of Culture of Legumes. — Red Clover. — 
Most of the soils of the Corn Belt where red clover has 
been long and successfully grown contain the bacteria re- 
quired by it so that inoculation is not often necessary. 
Aside from this, all the requirements named in Section 195 
must be most carefully complied with if one would grow 
this legume successfully. Acidity of the soil, the supply 
of phosphorus, the methods of seeding and the use of a 
suitable nurse crop are matters requiring special attention. 

Most of the red clover grown in the United States is 
mixed with timothy. It is advisable, however, that the 
clover seed be sown in the spring while the timothy is 
often sown in the fall. If mixed in this way, about six 
pounds of clover seed and ten pounds of timothy per acre 
are used. The growth the first season after the nurse 
crop is harvested is good — and it is mostly clover. The 
second year, however, the growth should be heavy with 
timothy predominating. Two cuttings of hay are usually 

iThis table is taken from Dr. L. H. Pammel's excellent book, "Weeds 
of the Farm and Garden." It also appears in Iowa Bulletin 115. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 267 

secured, after which, if the timothy is not greatly desired, 
and a regular rotation is being practiced, the ground is 
prepared for corn the following year. 

If red clover is grown alone, about ten pounds of seed 
per acre are used. The second season, a cutting of hay 
may be taken off in early summer, and the succeeding 
growth of clover may be cut for hay, allowed to form seed, 




Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Fig. 117. — Making alfalfa hay. 

or be plowed under. Since the plant is a biennial, it dies in 
the fall of the second year. 

Alfalfa. — There is no requirement named in Section 
195 that may be safely disregarded in growing alfalfa east 
of the Missouri River. Furthermore it is necessary that 
the land be perfectly drained and that the weeds be kept 
in check. 

West of the Missouri, it is only rarely that soil acidity 
is found or that the land is lacking in phosphorus. More- 
over, the soil usually contains those bacteria which alfalfa 
requires so that inoculation is generally unnecessary. 



268 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



In the older states, inoculation is a highly important 
matter as a rule. Soil for this purpose may be procured 
either from another alfalfa field, or from a field of sweet 
clover, or even from a patch of this plant along the road- 
side, since the two kinds of plants require the same bac- 
teria. 

The majority of growers in these states prefer not to 
sow alfalfa with a nurse crop at all. Instead, they sow 

it alone in the late 
summer either in land 
that has yielded a crop 
of small grain or in 
land that has borne no 
crop but has been kept 
idle or summer fallowed. 
If stubble ground is 
used for alfalfa, it 
should be disced and 
plowed as soon as the 
small grain crop has 
been removed. After 
this, it should be disced 
and harrowed every 
few days until later 
summer. In this way, 
weed and other seeds are induced to germinate and are 
subsequently killed ; and at the same time moisture from 
midsummer showers is stored and conserved. 

In late summer, then, the seed is drilled in at the rate 
of fifteen or twenty pounds per acre. This should be 
done early enough so that the young plants will have 
become established before winter. In many sections, 
alfalfa is sown in the spring with a nurse crop, just as is 
red clover. 




Fig. 118. — Putting alfalfa in the mow. 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 269 

The crop is commonly cultivated at least once each 
season, a spring tooth harrow or a disc being used after the 
second cutting. In this way, the growth of weeds, in- 
cluding blue grass, which is a particular enemy of alfalfa, 
may be partly or wholly controlled. 

Alfalfa should be cut for hay just after the new shoots 
appear at the crowns near the surface of the ground and 
before these shoots become so long that their tips will 
be clipped off by the mower. 

Sweet Clover. — There are three classes of sweet clovers; 
viz., the white flowering biennial, the yellow flowering 
biennial and the yellow flowering annual. The last one 
has little or no value from an agricultural standpoint, while 
of the other two, the first is regarded as the superior plant. 

Notwithstanding the fact that this plant, which com- 
monly grows along roadsides, has long been regarded as 
a noxious weed, its value as a feed for live stock is nearly 
or quite equal to that of alfalfa when once animals have 
become accustomed to it, it is second only to alfalfa in its 
ability to restore nitrogen and humus to the soil, and it is 
no more difficult to eradicate from a cultivated field than 
is red clover. 

Since it is a biennial, its cultural methods are similar 
to those of red clover except that about twenty pounds 
of hulled seed per acre are sown, as sweet clover contains 
an unusually high percentage of hard seeds which do not 
grow the first year. It will fiot succeed in an acid soil 
nor in one that does not contain the necessary bacteria. 
Thus limestone and inoculation are frequently necessary. 
Sweet clover differs from other legumes, however, in that 
it will thrive in a soil exceedingly low in humus, as in clay 
banks and in abandoned fields, provided there is a suffi- 
cient supply of lime in the ground. This gives it a value 
as a restorer of worn-out soils possessed by no other plant. 



270 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

Owing to the high percentage of hard seeds, a germina- 
tion test, such as was made in Exercise 50, should in every 
case be made before the seed is either purchased or used. 
At least 30 to 40 per cent should prove germinable. 

Sweet clover is cut for hay when about twenty to twenty- 
four inches in height. If allowed to grow longer, the hay 
becomes coarse and woody. In mowing it, a stubble from 
four to six inches high is usually left, as otherwise many 
young shoots will be cut off and later growth retarded, or 
the plants may even be killed outright. 

Alsike. — Alsike clover may be used either for pasture 
or as a hay crop. It succeeds better than red clover in 
poorly drained soils or in those deficient in lime, and for 
this reason, it is often grown in fields in which it is known 
that red clover can not thrive. 

Often 'it is mixed with timothy and red clover because 
it matures at about the same time, about four or five 
pounds of alsike seed per acre being used in addition to 
the usual amounts of the other seeds. In this case, it 
becomes a sort of substitute for the red clover, that is, in 
those spots or places, where the red clover fails, the alsike 
usually establishes itself. 

White Clover. — The little white clover is the standard 
pasture plant among the clovers just as is blue grass 
among the grasses. 

This clover is not usually seeded, but, like the blue grass, 
finds its way into pastures that are suited to it. The seed 
will lie in the ground for several years and will germinate 
when conditions become right. It may be sown in pasture 
mixtures, in which case, from two to five pounds of the seed 
per acre may be used. 

Japan Clover. — This is an annual clover which is 
commonly used in the southern states for pastures 
though on fertile soils it sometimes grows to a height of 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 



271 



twenty-four to thirty inches and may be cut for hay. 
Each year a new crop grows from the seed which fell 
to the ground from the preceding year's plants so that 
the land may seem to remain in the same crop per- 
manently. 

Japan clover may be mixed with Bermuda grass, making 
an excellent pasture, corresponding in a way to the white 
clover and blue grass pastures of the North. Its growth 
is checked by the heat 
of midsummer and it 
is killed by the frosts 
of winter. It follows 
that its chief value 
is for spring and fall 
pasture. 

Cowpeas and Soy 
Beans. — These crops 
are adapted to the 
warmer parts of the 
Corn Belt, though soy 
beans will succeed 
somewhat farther 
north than will cow- 
peas. Both are grown 
quite extensively in 
the South. 

They may be sown broadcast in corn at the last cultiva- 
tion or drilled between the rows afterwards ; or they may 
be planted in stubble ground after the small grain is re- 
moved. They require a well-prepared seed bed, should be 
covered as a rule to a depth of about two inches, and can 
not be sown until the soil has become thoroughly warmed 
up in the late spring. If sown broadcast, from six to 
eight pecks of seed per acre are used ; but if they are 




Fig. 119. 



Courtesy loua State College. 
Soy beans in field. 



272 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

drilled in, less seed is sufficient. They should not be put 
into the ground until danger of frost is past. Inoculation 
is often necessary in soils in which these crops have not 
previously grown. 

Field peas, or Canadian field peas, are grown in the 
cooler parts of the Corn Belt and northward, often with 
oats as a pasture for hogs or for hay. They are more 
hardy with respect to cold than are cowpeas or soy beans. 
However, the cultural methods of the three crops are 
similar. 

The Vetches. — Two kinds of vetch, the common, and 
the hairy, or winter vetch, are rather extensively grown 
especially in sandy soils. 

They may be sown broadcast in corn or cotton at the 
last cultivation. The winter vetch may be planted in 
late summer or early autumn. 

Inoculation is usually necessary the first time the crop 
is grown. The soil in which garden peas are growing may 
be used for this purpose. 

Vetch may be used for hay, but it is preeminently a 
green manure crop ; that is, it is plowed under to add 
humus to the soil. 

204. Securing the Maximum Benefits from Legumes. — 

If the soil is to acquire all the nitrogen which any given 
leguminous crop takes from the air, it is, of course, necessary 
that the latter be plowed under. This, however, is or- 
dinarily not done. Rather the hay is fed to animals and 
the manure returned to the land. A considerable loss of 
nitrogen results from this in most cases ; but the profit 
derived from the feeding of the hay more than offsets 
this. 

On the other hand, it is not advisable in any case, if we 
consider the effect upon the fertility of the soil, to remove 



CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 273 

and sell the hay, retaining only the roots in the land. If 
this is done, the store of nitrogen in the soil is not increased 
at all as a. rule, while that of other essential elements is 
actually diminished. 



QUESTIONS 

1. Name six ways in which legumes benefit the farmer. 

2. How do legumes add nitrogen to the soil? 

3. State seven reasons why clovers frequently fail. 

4. How would you test a field for acidity? 

5. Rank the small grains according to their suitability as 
nurse crops for clovers. 

6. What is the objection to sowing clover seed broadcast 
and harrowing it in ? 

7. LTnder what conditions may we attribute clover failures 
to drouth or winterkilling? 

8. Name five rules to follow in order to succeed with clovers 
and other legumes. 

9. How would you correct soil acidity? 

10. How would you inoculate a field for alfalfa ? 

11. State in detail how you would make a seed analysis. 

12. Why is a germination test particularly necessary before 
sowing sweet clover ? 

13. Why is sweet clover superior to any other plant for re- 
storing wornout soils ? 

14. What is the standard pasture plant among the clovers? 

15. Why should not the hay from legumes be sold from the 
farm? 



CHAPTER XX 
THE FIBER CROPS 

205. Three Crops yielding Valuable Fibers. — The 

plants that yield the supply of material from which 
certain kinds of cloth, thread, rope, twine and similar 
products are made, are called fiber crops. There are 
between thirty and forty plants in the world, which yield 
materials of this kind. Only three such crops, however, 
are grown extensively in the United States; viz., cotton, 
flax and hemp. 

In Section 82 we learned that it is a portion of the stem 
of the flax and of the hemp which is used in the manu- 
facture of linen, rope, and other important products. In 
the case of cotton, it is the lint which grows on the seeds 
that furnishes the material for cloth, thread and twine. 

These vegetable fibers are not only used alone but they 
are often mixed with animal fibers, such as wool ; or they 
are sometimes used as a substitute for the latter. It is 
not difficult to distinguish one from the other, however, as 
vegetable fibers leave a white ash when burned while animal 
fibers leave a dark coal. 

206. Valuable Products Other than Fiber. — The value 
of these crops lies not alone in the cloth and cordage 
material which they yield but also in the rich oils and 
protein feeds for animals which come from their seeds. 

Cottonseed meal and oil are staple articles of commerce. 
Flax seed meal, or linseed meal, as it is usually called, is 
extensively used in stock feeding while the oil from the 

274 



THE FIBER CROPS 



275 



seed is used in all paints and varnishes of good quality. 
Hemp seed oil is used in cooking and in the manufacture 
of paints, varnishes and soap. 

Cotton 

207. The Importance of Cotton. — Cotton has often 
been called the king of crops because it is our leading article 
of export. More farm 
land in the United 
States is planted each 
year, however, to corn, 
oats or wheat than to 
cotton. 

The great value of 
cotton hes in the fact 
that it furnishes the 
greater part of the 
clothing of the people 
of the earth. The 
magnitude of the cot- 
ton-growing industry 
has increased to such 
an extent that the 
whole economic world 
is unsettled when war 
or any other disaster interferes with its movement in the 
raw or manufactured state to and fro between countries. 
Our exports of cotton in a single year ordinarily amount to 
more than three hundred million dollars, from which we 
may readily see how serious a matter it is to our people 
if the ports of the world become closed against it. 

208. Where Cotton is grown in the United States. 
The states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missis- 




FiG. 120. — An opened cotton boll. 



276 . SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

sippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas constitute what is 
known as the Cotton Belt. There are a number of reasons 
why this part of the country has become the leading cotton- 
producing section of the world : 

(1) The cotton plant thrives best in a climate where the 
temperature is uniformly high for four or five months after 
the seed is planted, followed by two or three months of 
cooler weather. These temperature conditions prevail 
in the Cotton Belt. 

(2) The cotton plant thrives on clay and silt loam 
soils, which are the predominating types in this region. 

(3) The cotton plant makes its best yield when the 
rainfall is comparatively heavy and well distributed during 
the growing season, followed by rather dry weather during 
the picking season. The weather records show that the 
Cotton Belt receives its rainfall in about this way. 

(4) A cotton crop requires a great deal of haiid labor. 
Cheap and efficient help can be secured in this region. 

(5) Owing to the fact that it is so largely exported, 
the crop requires adequate facilities for transportation. 
Railroads and steamships quickly move the enormous 
number of bales grown in the cotton states from the 
various points of shipment. 

209. The Cotton Plant. — For those persons who live 
where cotton grows, no description of the plant is necessary, 
while for others it may be compared with another familiar 
plant, a noxious weed, which belongs to the same family. 
The Indian mallow, butter print, or velvet leaf, as it is 
variously called, belongs to the mallow family, to which 
also the cotton belongs. 

Both plants have a strong, deep tap root with finer 
lateral ones spreading in all directions, often to a distance 
of three or four feet from the main root. Both have 



THE FIBER CROPS 



277 



' stout, erect stems from one to five feet tall with wide, 
spreading branches, the longest ones being nearest the 
ground and the shortest ones at the top. The flowers of 
both are regular, with five petals which are creamy white 
or yellow in color. The butter print flower remains open 
but a short time while 
the flowers of many 
varieties of cotton 
open in the early 
morning, showing a 
creamy yellow color, 
turn pink or red dur- 
ing the day and at 
nightfall close never 
to open again. The 
pistil of the flower of 
either butter print or 
cotton develops into a 
boll. When ripe, 
these bolls open, ex- 
posing dark-colored 
seeds. Those of the 
butter print show a 

trace of lint when examined under the hand lens, while 
the lint on the cotton seed is pearly white and from one- 
half to two and one half inches long. 

210. Growing the Cotton Crop. — i^oto^ion. — The 
chief criticism offered to the methods practiced by cotton 
growers is that they raise this crop in the same fields too 
many years in succession, selling the fiber and seed and 
returning nothing to the land. 

The yield of the crop is in proportion to the fertility of 
the soil. To maintain this fertility, a rotation of at least 




Fig. 121. — Cotton seeds with lint. 



278 . SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

two or three years is essential, as, for example, cotton 
followed by crimson clover the first year ; corn, the second 
year; and wheat followed by cowpeas the third year. 

It is unnecessary that the field occasionally '' lay out," that 
is, be left idle to grow up to weeds for two or three years. 

A rotation, moreover, tends to hold in check that 
dreaded enemy of the cotton grower, the boll weevil. 

Fertilizers. — There is probably no general crop grown 
in this country upon which commercial fertiUzers are so 
extensively and profitably used as upon cotton. The 
Georgia Station has found after fourteen years of experi- 
mental work that upland, worn soils should receive nitro- 
gen, phosphorus and potassium in the ratio of three, ten 
and three. 

On many of the prairie soils containing plenty of lime, 
the use of commercial fertihzers is not profitable, while 
even on soils where their use now brings returns, a careful 
rotation will greatly lessen the need of them. 

Seed Bed and Seeding. — Land which is to be planted 
to cotton should not be left bare during the winter. Crim- 
son clover, bur clover or winter vetch, sown in the fall and 
plowed under not later than February first, will make a 
loose, fertile seed bed. 

If a fertilizer is to be used, it is often placed in a furrow, 
opened by a lister, or ^' middle buster," as it is called. 
The soil is then thrown back over the fertilizer with a small 
plow ; and the seed is planted over it with a shght furrow 
left between the rows. 

Another method used is to open the furrows with a 
lister, or middle buster, from three to four feet apart, and 
to plant the seed on the ridges with a single row planter, 
adding fertiHzer with the seed as desired. 

The practice has been to plant from one to three bushels 
of seed per acre, which means from 100,000 to 600,000 



THE FIBER CROPS 



279 




Copyright by Underwood & Underwood. 
Fig. 122. — Negroes picking cotton. 



280 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

seeds. When the plants have pushed their way up out 
of the ground, most of them are cut out, leaving those 
not destroyed about eighteen inches apart in the row. 

It is an excellent practice to use only large, plump seeds, 
planting fewer of them per acre and applying cottonseed 
meal as a fertilizer for the growing crop. 

Cultivation. — ■ A sweep cultivator which stirs the ground* 
two or three inches deep is commonly used. It leaves a 
loose mulch on top, conserves the moisture, helps to make 
plant food available, destroys weeds and brings about 
that continuous, rapid growth so essential to a satisfactory 
yield of cotton. 

211. Harvesting the Crop. — One of the characteristic 
scenes of the South is that of cotton picking. No machine 
has ever been invented to gather cotton satisfactorily, 
for the bolls ripen successively, which means that the 
field must be gone over several times. 

Picking usually begins in late August and continues 
until the first of November. Fitted over the shoulders 
of the pickers and trailing out to a distance of perhaps 
ten or twelve feet behind them, are the picking sacks, 
in which the seed cotton is placed. From these sacks it 
is transferred to deep-boxed wagons and hauled to the gin. 

212. Ginning the Cotton. — From the wagons the 
cotton is unloaded or drawn by suction into the hoppers 
where revolving saws remove the lint from the seed. 
The lint is removed from the saws by revolving cylinders 
and drawn by suction into a condenser, from which it 
passes on to the press. The fiber comes out from these 
power or screw presses in bales of five hundred pounds. 

As the seeds are separated from the fiber by the saws, 
they drop through "^openings and those which are not 



THE FIBER CROPS 



281 



saved for planting are reginned to remove the clinging 
lint. Their hulls are then removed and the embryos, or 
'' meats," of the seeds cooked for about fifteen minutes 
to drive off the water and melt the oil. Pressure is then 
apphed to extract the oil, which goes to the refinery. 




Copyright by Underwouu a- u nutr wood. 
Fig 123. — Bales of cotton ready for shipment. 

The remainder is dried, cooked once more and ground 
into cottonseed meal. 

213. Proportion and Value of Seed and Lint. — It takes 
about fifteen hundred pounds of cotton as it comes from 
the field to make a five-hundred-pound bale. 



282 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



The value of the lint lies in its cheapness, flexibility, 
uniformity and wearing qualities. It is spun and woven 
with ease into nearly all kinds of fabrics. 

The hulls of the seeds are used for fuel, as a fertihzer, 

as a feed for cattle, and for paper stock, while the oil is 

used in the manufacture of oleomargarine, as a substitute 

for oHve oil, in lard compounds and for other cuhnary 

purposes. The cake left after the oil is extracted, or 

the meal made from it, is used as a feed for stock and 

as a fertilizer. 

Flax 

214. How and where Flax is grown. — The production 
of flax has moved westward and northward as the newer 
parts of the Mississippi 
Valley have been set- 
tled. The pioneers 
have broken up the 
prairie sod, and while 
they were waiting for 
it to decay sufficiently 
for wheat to grow, they 
have raised a crop of 
flax. This new land 
has hitherto been 
abundant enough to 
supply the amount of 
flax required in this 
country. 

Flax thrives and is 
raised principally in 
northern Europe, 
where a cool, moist 
atmosphere exists. This explains in part why the states 
of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota produce 
the greater part of the crop raised in this country. 




Fig. 124. — Flax plant and fiber. 



THE FIBER CROPS 283 

Flax seed is sown in the spring, the average depth at 
which it is planted being about one inch. Like wheat, 
the crop requires no cultivation after being sown. If 
seed is desired, the stand should be somewhat thin in 
order that the plants may branch well. On the other 
hand, if fiber is wanted, the seed is sown thickly to 
make the plants grow tall and straight. When sown 
for seed, from one to three pecks per acre are used 
while nearly four times this amount of seed is sown 
for a fiber crop. 

Flax is cut with an ordinary self-binder, and is considered 
one of the most pleasant crops to handle. It has long 
been regarded as one of the most exhaustive crops 
grown on any soil. A disease, known as flax wilt, develops 
when the crop is raised a second or third year in succession 
in the same field ; and many growers beheve that it is 
this disease, rather than the gross feeding habit of the 
plant, that has given it so bad a reputation. 

215. Methods of Handling and Value of the Fiber and 
Seed. — After the crop has been cut with the binder, or 
pulled by hand as is sometimes done, it is placed in shocks 
and allowed to stand for two or three weeks. If the fiber 
is desired, the seed is then removed by passing the heads 
between rapidly revolving cylinders or rollers, which 
crush the seed pods. The straw is bound into bundles, 
and later, usually in October or November, it is spread 
out on the ground to " ret," or rot. During this process 
the portions of the stems, other than the bast (Section 82), 
decay, or become sufficiently softened to permit an easy 
separation of the parts. The long, straight fibers, from 
one to three feet in length, are called long hnt while the 
short and tangled ones are called tow. From the former, 
fine laces, hnens, dress goods and thread are made, while 



284 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

bagging, upholstering material and twine are made from 
the tow. 

Flax fiber has been called '' the fiber of luxury," while 
cotton has been called " the fiber of the masses." 

If the crop is not raised for the fiber, but only for the 
seed, it is threshed with an ordinary threshing machine. 
The seed secured is eventually crushed, after which it is 
heated to about 165 degrees Fahrenheit, placed between 
layers of coarse cloth and the oil extracted by pressure. 
The soHdified mass remaining is known as oil cake. This 
cake may be ground, in which case it is called '^ old pro- 
cess linseed meal." If the oil is extracted, not by pressure 
but by the use of petroleum naphtha, the remaining meal 
is known as " new process linseed meal." 

Oil cake and linseed meal are among the most valuable 
protein feeds for live stock known. Linseed oil is used in 
making paints and varnishes, printing ink, linoleum, soap 
and artificial India rubber. 

Hemp 

This plant is a coarse annual, growing from eight to 
twelve feet tall and yielding a rather coarse fiber which 
is used in making cordage and warp for carpets. The 
crop demands a somewhat warmer climate than does 
flax and in this country is raised principally in the blue 
grass regions of Kentucky and Tennessee. The crop does 
not exhaust the soil so quickly as flax ; and if the waste is 
returned to the field, it may be grown several years in 
succession on the same land. 

The hemp crop is cut with a heavy mower or with a self- 
rake reaper, or it may be cut by hand. 

The fallen plants are allowed to lie on the ground until 
the dews and rains have " retted," or rotted, the stems. 



THE FIBER CROPS 



285 



Then it is stacked and later the fiber is separated by 
machinery. The seed is not so eagerly sought by paint 
manufacturers as is that of flax, although considerable 




Fig. 125. — A Kentucky hemp field. 

use is made of it as an ingredient of oil colors and var- 
nishes. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name the three principal fiber crops of America and tell 
where each is grown. 

2. What two portions, or parts, of these fiber plants are 
used and why is each valuable? 

3. Name five reasons why the southern part of the United 
States is adapted to the culture of cotton. 

4. Give a good crop rotation for a cotton plantation and 
tell why such a rotation is important. 

5. State briefly how to prepare and plant a field of cotton. 

6. Tell briefly how cotton is picked and how the seed is 
separated from the lint. 



286 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

7. Why is cotton lint, or fiber, so extensively used by the 
" masses"? 

8. In what kind of soil is flax usually grown ? 

9. What is the principal use of flax seed, and for what is the 
fiber used ? 

10. Describe the hemp plant and tell how it is harvested and 
for what the fiber is chiefly used. 



CHAPTER XXI 
FRUIT GROWING 

216. Horticulture and Agriculture. — In ancient times, 
the people lived together within walled cities for protection 
and cultivated " intensively " the small plots of land within 
the inclosures. The larger fields were outside and could 
not be so carefully attended as those within. 

The Latin word hortus means a garden, or inclosure; 
ager, a field ; and cultura, cultivation or culture. Thus the 
word horticulture has come down to us meaning the care, 
or culture, of those crops which were grown within the 
walled cities; viz., fruits, vegetables and flowers, while 
agriculture signifies the cultivation of grain crops, grasses 
and other crops grown in the large fields outside. 

The older a country becomes and the denser its popula- 
tion, the fewer are the field crops grown, while fruit and 
vegetable crops tend to increase. 

217. Where our Fruits originated. — If we were to 
travel from New York to Seattle, passing through Chicago, 
Omaha, Denver and Salt Lake City on our way, we should 
find apple orchards, large or small, in most places along 
our route where the land is capable of cultivation. Then 
if we were to journey down the Pacific coast, we should 
find prune, peach, orange and lemon orchards and the 
vineyards which yield our supply of raisins, as well as large 
red or white soHd-fleshed grapes. In the southern part 
of Cahfornia and in Arizona, the date flourishes ; and in 

287 



288 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

this same district and extending eastward into Texas, we 
should find the fig. In the Cotton Belt and extending 
slightly north of it, large orchards of peaches grow, 
and in Florida, the orange, lemon and grapefruit grow 
in abundance. 

Did all these fruits originate on this continent? Not 
one. All of them came to us from Europe or Asia, having 
been introduced into this country by the white man. These 
fruits have, however, been improved and selected according 
to adaptation to different soils and climates of the United 
States. Moreover, the native fruits of other kinds which 
the first settlers found growing here have been improved. 
From the wild cranberries, plums, raspberries and grapes, 
have come thousands of superior varieties worthy of a 
name and of a place in our gardens a.nd orchards. 

Not many of those varieties of apples, oranges, peaches 
or other fruits which were originally introduced from 
foreign lands are now to be found growing in American 
orchards. They have been replaced by better varieties, 
the offspring of these foreign parents. 

It is an interesting fact that almost none of these 
superior varieties have come from known parents. A 
seed may be dropped on the roadside by a bird or a 
thoughtless passer-by; a tree springs up, and by one 
chance in a thousand perhaps, or even less, its fruit proves 
to be better than any other similar fruit growing in that 
locality. Buds or twigs are taken from it and united with 
other plants of the same species, the variety is given a 
name, and it thus becomes introduced into cultivation. 

218. Developing the Young Tree. — After the budding 
or grafting has been done as explained in Section 104, 
the young tree is trained in the nursery for one or more 
years. It is then taken up with as many roots as can be 



FRUIT GROWING 289 

conveniently secured, packed in moist moss and straw 
and shipped to the person who wishes to plant it. 

219. The Location of the Orchard. — The location of a 
young orchard should not be chosen hastily or without 
careful consideration. In the selection of an orchard 
site, these factors should be kept in mind : 

(1) Convenience to the home and to a desirable market 
if fruit is to be raised to sell. 

(2) Soil. — Each fruit has a particular type of soil upon 
which it succeeds best. This can usually be determined 
by studying different orchards in your own locality. 

(3) Water Drainage. — • There is an old saying that 
fruit trees do not like wet feet. The gravity water 
(Section 12) in any orchard site must be removed by 
drainage before the plants will thrive. 

(4) Air Drainage. — It must be remembered that air 
drains hke water. The cold air is the heavier and settles 
into the " pockets," or low places; and if trees or vines 
are planted there, they are very liable to be injured by 
the frost. 

220. The Distances between the Trees. — If the 
location and soil preparation are satisfactory, we must 
next determine the distances at which the various plants 
make their best growth. 

The following table of distances between the plants is 
recommended, though it may be varied shghtly on 
different soils and with different varieties. 

Apples 36 feet each way 

Pears 20 to 25 feet each way 

Peaches and nectarines .... 20 feet each way 

Plums 20 feet each way 

Apricots ......... 20 feet each way 



290 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Cherries 20 feet each way 

Cherries (sweet) ........ 30 feet each way 

Figs 20 to 25 feet each way 

Oranges and lemons 25 to 30 feet each way 

Grapes 6x8 feet to 8 x 10 feet 

Currants 4x6 feet to 6 x 8 feet 

Blackberries 4x7 feet to 6 x 9 feet 

Raspberries 3x6 feet to 5 x 8 feet 

Strawberries 1x3 feet to 1 x 4 feet 

221. Cutting back and Planting the Young Trees or 
Vines. — Suppose that the trees or vines have been re- 




FiG. 126. — Trees cut back for planting. 



ceived from the nursery. They must be protected from 
the sun and wind until they are planted; and moreover, 
only as many should be taken to the orchard at a time as 
can be protected while the work is going on. 

It is impossible to remove a tree from the nursery row 
or from the ground elsewhere without cutting away a part 
of the roots. The top must be cut back then, to offset this 
loss of roots. It may be given almost as a fixed rule that 
young trees should be cut back at least one half of the last 
season's growth and vines and shrubs should be cut back 



FRUIT GROWING 291 

to the ground, leaving only two or three buds on the short 
stems. 

A tree should be planted slightly deeper than it was in 
the nursery row, the roots well spread out, and the soil 
packed firmly about them. 

222. Cultivation of the Young Plants. — We are al- 
ready familiar with the reasons for tilling the soil, but we 
cannot apply these principles in fruit growing without 
knowledge of the needs of the roots of our trees and vines. 
The root systems of fruit-bearing plants have been thor- 
oughly studied ; and, as will be seen, the cultivation 
of each one must be governed largely by the character of 
the underground part of the plant. 

(1) The Strawberry. — This plant has a shallow root 
system which does not extend far beyond the area covered 
by the leaves. Strawberries must receive frequent and 
shallow cultivation or be mulched with straw between 
the rows to produce the best fruit. 

(2) The Raspberry. — This plant, too, has a shallow 
root system and can not endure deep cultivation as the 
heavy main roots will be torn out or cut off. Moisture 
should be retained with a dust or straw mulch. 

(3) The Grape. — The grape has a deep root system and 
should therefore receive thorough cultivation, while the 
plant itself delights in a deep, porous, even gravelly soil 
where its feeding roots may range deep and wide. 

(4) The Tree Fruits. — Most tree fruits, as the apple, 
pear and cherry, have deep feeding roots; and in those 
soils in which the roots are able to penetrate deep and 
wide, cultivation is used principally to put the soil in a 
condition to receive and hold moisture. In fact, as the 
trees become older, the orchard may be planted to some 
annual or biennial clover. Grasses, however, which are 



292 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

likely to rob the trees of their moisture, and those which 
allow the water to run off instead of soaking into the 
ground, should not be allowed to take possession of the 
soil. 

223. The Training of the Young Plants. — The training 
of the young plants must begin the same season they are 
set out, as usually the first few seasons determine the 
form of the tree or vine. Three facts should be kept in 
mind in pruning, or training any young trees, limbs or 
vines : 

(1) Each plant should be so placed and trained that all 
its leaves may receive plenty of sunlight in order that they 
may manufacture an abundance of food for the plant. 

(2) Except in a very few localities in the United States, 
the main limbs of a tree should be quite close to the ground. 
A low-headed, vase-formed tree is less liable to injury 
from wind and sun, the branches receive plenty of light, 
and the fruit is much easier to gather. 

(3) Heavy pruning, one year in many, upsets the habits 
of the plant and results in too much wood growth. On 
the other hand, those pruned lightly each year maintain 
a normal, healthy growth. 

224. When and how Fruit Buds form. — When by 
proper cultivation and pruning we have developed a 
tree or vine of the type which we desire, we must turn our 
attention to making it bear fruit. 

Fruit develops from blossoms. Blossoms develop from 
blossom buds, or fruit buds, as they are called. And these 
blossom buds develop from slight enlargements, or pro- 
tuberances, within the protecting leaf buds. 

If we were to take two or three eggs each day from an 
incubator, break them open and examine them, we could 



FRUIT GROWING 293 

trace the development of a chick until it is fully formed. 
Similarly, by cutting open buds every week from the first 
of July until the first of the following April, and examining 
them under a powerful microscope, we can trace the de- 
velopment of a blossom. 

At some time about the middle of the growing season, — 
often as early as July first with apples, plums, peaches and 
cherries in the central parts of the United States — a 
slight protuberance may be found within the protecting 
scales at the base of a leaf bud. It is the beginning of a 
fruit bud ; and as the season advances, the parts of the 
flower are slowly formed within the bud, — first, the sepals, 
next, the petals, then the stamens and lastly the pistil. 

When the warm days of spring come on, the protecting 
scales open and the full flower expands. 

225. Conditions which favor the Formation of Fruit 
Buds. — While it is not possible for a fruit grower to 
control all the conditions which surround his plants, it is 
surprising how many things he can do that favor the for- 
mation of fruit buds ; and we must remember that an 
abundance of fruit buds usually means a crop of fruit the 
following year. 

Two principles must be kept in mind ; and with these to 
guide him, the fruit grower is able to control in a measure 
the yield of fruit from his orchard from year to year : 

(1) Fruit buds form when the plants are in a healthy 
condition and full of reserve food. (Section 70.) 

(2) Fruit buds form when there is a check in the growth 
of the plants. 

We can readily see how a grower may keep his plants 
in healthy condition and full of reserve food by cultiva- 
tion, by pruning, and by the addition of organic matter 
to the soil if need be ; and how he may favor their 



294 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

growth by protecting them against disease (Section 99) 
and insects. 

But how is he to check their growth? 

The fruit grower in the irrigated country will tell you 
that it can be done by withholding nearly all water from 
the trees during the latter part of the growing season. 

The man who cultivates his orchard will tell you that 
you can check the growth by stopping the cultivation early 
in July and sowing oats, rape, buckwheat, vetch or some 
other crop which will take the moisture and plant food 
from the soil. 

The man who once had a very healthy orchard in the 
central part of the United States, but all growing perhaps 
to heavy wood and bearing no fruit, will tell you that he 
pruned his trees in June and that the next year he had a 
full crop. 

Your grandfather would probably have told you to 
drive into the body of the tree rusty nails or small bolts. 

The man who prunes and cultivates, who checks his 
irrigation stream, or who sows a crop in his orchard at 
midsummer is thinking about securing a crop of fruit, and 
at the same time about keeping his trees in healthy con- 
dition. Grandfather's method produced fruit, but in 
many cases it shortened the life of the tree. A tree that 
is injured by rabbits or mice, by storms or by careless 
treatment is very likely to bear fruit the next year, — and 
the next year it is apt to die. 

By careful soil management, by proper pruning, by 
intelligent irrigation, by timely spraying, and by thinning 
the fruit, we can aid the fruit buds to form and at the same 
time maintain healthy, long-lived trees. 

226. Age of Wood upon which Fruit Buds appear. — 
One of the most interesting ways to fix in mind the dif- 



FRUIT GROWING 



295 



ference between a leaf bud and a fruit bud is to examine 

them at any time in the winter. You will find then : 

(1) That the fruit buds of the cherry and plum are in 



Fig. 127. — A 
cherry twig as it 
looks in winter. 



Fig. 128. — An 
apple twig in win- 
ter. 



Fig. 129. — A 
peach twig as it 
looks in winter. 



clusters on short spurs while the leaf buds lie close 
against the twig. 

(2) That the fruit buds of the apple are likewise borne 
on spurs, but that there is usually only one on each spur 
while the leaf buds lie against the twig. 



296 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

(3) That the buds of the peach are in clusters of three, 
not on spurs, but lying close against the twig, the middle 
one of each cluster being a leaf bud while the other two 
are fruit buds. 

By studying Figures 127-129, or better still the twigs 
themselves, you will see that not all varieties of fruit buds 
are borne on wood of the same age. There is always 
a set of rough rings, or wrinkles, separating each year's 
growth on a twig from that of the year before ; and by 
beginning at the tip and counting the sections, or divisions, 
between these rings, you can easily determine the age of 
any portion of the twig or branch. 

EXERCISE 51 

Object. — To learn the form and position of fruit buds 
and the age of the wood upon which they appear. 

Procedure. — Secure a branch or twig three feet or more 
in length of a cherry, peach, plum, apple, or other fruit tree, 
and lay it on the desk or table before you. 

Examine it carefully for the rough rings, which separate 
the wood of different years' growth. Then point out the 
fruit buds and note that they are usually plumper, as 
well as grayer or darker in color than the leaf buds, while 
the leaf buds, which lie along the twig, are usually rather 
pointed in comparison with the fruit buds. 

Conclusion. — Describe carefully in your notebook the 
color, form and position of both the fruit buds and the leaf 
buds, and state the age of the wood upon which the fruit 
buds appear. 

Make a drawing of the twig to show this. 

Put your twig in a vase or glass of water so that the buds 
may open. 

The fruit of the grape is borne on wood, or canes, of the 
same season's growth as the fruit itself, — not on the wood 



FRUIT GROWING 297 

of the year before, or the second, third, or fourth year 
before as is the case with most of the tree fruits. Re- 
member to examine your grape vines next year to see that 
this is true. 

We readily see then how closely the questions of fruit 
buds and pruning are related. 

The clusters of fruit that you will pick from your grape 
vines next fall will be borne only on the young, new wood 
formed during the spring and summer ; and because of 
this fact, the old wood should have been pruned away 
last fall, save only a very few canes from which the new 
ones might grow. This would cause the plant to devote 
its entire strength and vigor to the development of the 
new fruit-bearing wood as well as to that of the fruit 
itself. 

The fruit of the blackberry and raspberry, like that of 
the grape, is borne only on the new twigs, or wood, of the 
same season's growth as the berries themselves ; and these 
new twigs branch only from those canes which have grown 
up from the ground the year before. This means that the 
twigs from which you will gather berries next summer will 
be found branching out from canes that came up from the 
ground last summer, — and these twigs will not begin to 
grow until spring has come. Therefore you should have 
cut away all old wood that had borne fruit as soon as the 
crop was gathered last summer so that the new^ canes could 
have possession of the ground. 

Peaches are always borne on twigs of the previous season's 
growth. It follows that pruning should have been done 
last summer to induce the growth of new twigs from which 
the next season's crop must come. 

Plums and cherries usually, but not always, are borne 
on wood that is two years old, and fortunately these trees 
get along well with very little pruning; 



298 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Apples are usually borne on wood older than two years, 
and frequent use of the pruning saw and knife must be 
made to induce the fruit spurs on these trees to develop 
where we want them. 



Fig. 130. — 
A peach twig 
as it looks in 
spring. 




Fig. 131. — A cherry 
twig as it looks in 
spring. 




Fig. 132. — An apple twig 
as it looks in spring. 



227. The Reasons for Pruning. — We have studied 
about pruning in connection with the training of the 



FRUIT GROWING 



299 



young trees or vines and also as a means of inducing the 
formation of fruit buds. Let us bring together the reasons 
for this important operation. They are : 

(1) To regulate the size and shape of the tree or vine. 

(2) To remove unnecessary and rubbing twigs or small 
limbs which prevent the sunlight from reaching the fruit- 
bearing wood in the inner parts of the tree top. 

(3) To remove any dead or diseased portions of the 
plant. Many of the diseases of both the limbs and the 
fruit may be controlled by cutting out and burning the 
limbs as soon as the blights or cankers appear. 

(4) To increase the vigor and health, and thereby the 
wood growth of the tree or vine. Plants which have a feeble 
root system are greatly benefited by pruning, while the 
rate of growth of healthy trees is increased in the same way 
if the work is done in the dormant season. 

(5) To incr ease fruitfulness. As has been shown, check- 
ing the growth of trees and vines tends to stimulate the 
formation of fruit buds. Pruning in the early summer, 
unlike that done in the winter, checks the growth of wood 
and favors that of fruit buds. 




Fig. 133. — Grape vine pruned to a double T. 



228. Methods of Pruning. — With the reasons for 
pruning clearly in mind, we are ready to take up the 
methods of performing this important work. These will 



300 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



vary somewhat with the age, variety and vigor of the plant, 
and with the locaUty in which it is grown. 

The Grape. — Many methods are used in pruning the 
grape vine, but only one will be given here : 




Fig. 134. — Peach trees headed back. 



The young vine is trained up a two-wire trellis and there 
encouraged to form a letter T with a second letter T im- 
mediately above it. The erect stems of the two letters, 
then, are of wood, usually as old as the vine itself, while 
the spreading " arms " are of wood of the previous season's 



FRUIT GROWING 



301 



growth. From the buds, which may be readily found on 
these arms, are to come the branches that will bear the 

fruit. 

The grape should be pruned in the late winter, when 
all the wood should be cut away save the old stems 
and four new branches, less than one year old, which 
will form the arms of 
the two T's. 

Raspberries and 
Blackberries. — Soon 
after these berries 
have been picked, the 
canes which bore them 
die, and beside them, 
growing up from the 
same root, are found 
new canes. 

The old canes should 
be removed as soon as 
the fruit has been 
gathered,, and early 
the following spring 
the new canes should 
have their very tips 
pruned off as this 
favors the development of the lateral twigs, or branches, 
which are to bear the fruit. 

Cherries and Plums. — Cherry and plum trees need little 
pruning, save to remove the dead, diseased or broken 
limbs, or those which densely shade the inner parts of the 

tree top. 

Peaches. — Peach trees tend to grow tall. Their buds 
are sometimes killed in the winter by the severe cold. 
We can tell when this has happened by cutting through the 




Fig. 135. 



Courtesy Iowa Stale College. 
Apple tree before pruning. 



302 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



buds in the late winter with a sharp knife. If the middles 
are black instead of a healthy green, we need expect no 
peaches. This, then, will be the year to '' head in " our 
peach trees; that is, the main branches are cut back a 
part of their length. New twigs will grow vigorously 
from them to form buds for the next season's crop. 

Apples. — The best 
form of an apple tree 
is one which has a 
low, vase-shaped, open 
head, or top. In de- 
veloping a young tree, 
it is not difficult to 
produce this vase-Uke 
form. Two branches 
will be found growing 
from the same Hmb, 
one tending to grow 
upright and the other 
to spread. The up- 
right one should be re- 
moved, and thus the 
spreading vaselike 
forms will be de- 
veloped. 

Even after the tree has reached its full size, the 
pruning must be continued in about the manner ex- 
plained below : 

First. — Remove all water sprouts, — those long, slen- 
der, switchhke branches, which bear no fruit. If, how- 
ever, a part of the tree top is found vacant, one or more of 
these water sprouts should be encouraged to grow in that 
direction. By cutting them back later, we can induce 
them to bear fruit. 




Fig. 136. 



Courtesy Iowa Slate College. 
Apple tree after pruning. 



FRUIT GROWING 



303 



Second. — Remove all dead limbs, all limbs which rub 
or injure others, and those which make the inner parts of 
the tree dark and damp. 

In pruning apple trees, it is better to begin at the top of 
the tree and work downward, opening the outer branches 
so as to let the sunUght in and give the tree the desirable 
vase-like form, than to begin at the bottom and simply 
remove some of the large hmbs. 

Strawberries. — We do not ordinarily regard pruning 
as necessary or desirable for strawberries; yet there 
are few plants which 
really need it more, 
at least while they 
are very young. 

When a strawberry 
plant is set out in the 
spring, all its vigor 
and strength should 
go to the develop- 
ment of a strong root 
system. The runners 
which it sends out 
and the blossoms which it puts forth should be cut 
away. 

About the middle of the growing season, however, the 
runners may be distributed along the row as they appear 
and allowed to take root. After this, the space between 
the rows should be kept cultivated or mulched, and the 
runners should be kept out of them. 

If after two or three years the rows become matted, 
the runners may be allowed to take possession of the 
space between them, and the old rows may be plowed or 
hoed out. In this way, we can virtually secure a new bed 
with Httle effort. 




•B^SW'-*'' 



Fig. 137. — Strawberries. 



304 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



229. Precautions to be taken in Pruning. — Care must 
be exercised not to remove the fruit spurs, which we should 
be able by this time to recognize, nor to remove so much 
wood in a single season that the roots and top of the tree 
will be thrown out of '' balance." 

We should bear in mind that pruning for vigor; i.e., 

for wood growth, is 
usually done while the 
plants are dormant, — 
usually in the late win- 
ter ; but pruning as a 
means of checking the 
growth of the tree is 
done during the grow- 
ing season. Pruning 
for wood growth is usu- 
ally a severer opera- 
tion than that which 
is intended to check 
the growth and induce 
the formation of fruit 
buds. Indeed, the 
latter may consist 
only of pinching the 
terminal buds from 
the branches. This 
summer pruning of 
trees and vines must 
be done with caution, for a plant which is already 
somewhat weakened may be injured by pruning at this 
time. The most important end to be gained in pruning 
is the filling of the tree with reserve food, and this is ac- 
complished by pruning for wood growth. 

In pruning off either large Hmbs or small ones, the cuts 




Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Fig. 138. — Improper pruning. 



FRUIT GROWING 305 

should be made close to the Hmbs or trunks which support 
them, for a long stub like those shown in Figure 138 
eventually decays, leaving a hole in the tree into which 
enter in regular order first moisture, then spores of decay, 
and finally the decayed wood itself, which may extend 
far into the trunk or hmb. On the other hand, a cut made 
close to the tree heals over in a very few years. As a meas- 
ure of safety, however, the stubs of large hmbs, even 
when cut off close to the tree, should be painted with 
white lead and unboiled hnseed oil to exclude the mois- 
ture and spores of decay which might otherwise enter. 

230. Protecting Fruit-Bearing Plants from their Ene- 
mies. — 

Mice and Rabbits. — During the winter months, dam- 
age is often done, particularly to young trees, by mice 
and rabbits. They gnaw away the bark and cambium 
layer from about the trunk, thus stopping the downward 
current of food and causing the roots to starve, as explained 
in Section 79. 

If the trees, bushes or vines are covered with Hme-sul- 
fur spray mixture, which may be purchased at any drug 
store, the mice and rabbits will be repelled. It may be 
necessary to paint the solution on the trunks of the trees 
with a brush, especially if the rabbits are. numerous and 
the ground covered with snow so that they have trouble 
in finding other food. 

Frost. — The first way — and a very important one — 
of securing protection against frost is to choose a proper 
location for the orchard. A body of water, a belt of timber, 
a windbreak, and always good air drainage will help in pre- 
venting injury by frost. However, in even the best of 
locations, frosts will sometimes occur. 

Low growing plants like the strawberry may some- 
times be covered with straw or hay. 



306 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



A blanket of smoke from burning litter will prevent 
the escape of heat from the soil and in this way will often 
prevent frost. Among the interesting sights to be seen 
at times in some commercial orchards are the long lines of 
pots of burning oil or coal, which make a dense smoke and 




Fig. 139. 



Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Keeping Jack Frost away., 



at the same time generate heat enough to keep the tem- 
perature of the orchard above the danger point. 

Sunscald. — Undue exposure of the trunks of young 
trees to heat and cold may destroy a part of the bark, 
producing what is known as sunscald. Binding a layer 
of cornstalks, wood veneer or burlap about the trunks 
will protect them in the winter and early spring. These 



FRUIT GROWING 



307 



should, however, be removed during the growing season. 
As the tree becomes older, the low, vase-shaped top will 
protect the trunk. 

Insects. — Injurious insects are divided into two classes ; 
viz., those that chew, or eat the tissues of the plant, and 
those that suck the juices from it. 

In the first class, we find such insects as the apple worm, 
or codhng moth, the canker worm, the strawberry leaf 
eater and the po- 
tato bug. These 
insects devour the 
leaves or fruit, 
leaving nothing 
but the mere skele- 
ton of the leaf or 
perhaps a fruit 
filled with long 
tunnels to show 
where they have 
eaten their way 
through. 

Inasmuch as 
these insects de- 
vour the parts of 
the plant, they may be destroyed by applying a mist, or 
spray, containing some deadly poison, such as Paris green or 
lead arsenate. The latter is usually the more satisfactory 
because it stays on the leaves better and never burns them 
as the Paris green sometimes does. If two pounds of lead 
arsenate are dissolved in fifty gallons of water, the solution 
will destroy almost any chewing insects. It is used as a 
spray as they appear. 

In combating strawberry worms or cabbage worms, it 
is often unsafe to use either of the poisons named above. 




Fig. 140. — Codling moth and its work. 



308 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



In these cases, hellebore or pyrethrum (insect powder), 
may be substituted. 

Those insects which suck, as the plant hce, or aphids, 
and the melon bugs, push their '' beaks " down into the 
tissue of the leaf or fruit and take out the juices, destroying 
the plant or a part of it in this way. No poison, applied 
to the surface of the leaf, will affect them. A spray of 




Fig. 141. 



, Courtesy Iowa State College. 
Spraying an orchard. 



tobacco decoction, lime-sulfur, or kerosene and soap, 
appHed to the plants, comes in contact with the bodies 
of the insects and destroys them. The tobacco decoction, 
which is called nicotine sulfate, or Black Leaf 40, and the 
lime-sulfur preparation may be purchased at most drug 
stores. Directions for dilution and application accompany 
the mixtures. The kerosene and soap mixture, called 
kerosene emulsion, is made as follows : 



FRUIT GROWING ^ 309 

Dissolve a half pound of laundry soap in one gallon 
of boiling rain water. Remove from the fire and add 
two gallons of kerosene. Churn, or mix violently, until 
you have a hght, creamy mixture. Dilute this mixture 
with from twenty to twenty-five times as much water for 

plants in full leaf. 

Fungous Diseases. — We have already studied at some 
length in Section 98 how the spores of disease are spread 
and how they may be controlled. With nearly all fruits, 
it is best to apply a spray of Bordeaux mixture or lime- 
sulfur just before the leaves expand. Another apphca- 
tion, with lead arsenate added, should be made just after 
the petals have fallen from the blossoms. One or more 
appUcations of this spray may be necessary during the 
growing season if insects or diseases are feared. 

One ought not to try to remember all of the sprays and 
when to apply them, but to keep in the bookcase instead, 
one of the government or state bulletins, which gives the 
whole spraying schedule. These bulletins can be had for 
the asking. 

231. Gathering and Storing the Fruit. — Now that we 
have assisted in the formation of fruit buds, have kept 
away the rabbits and mice during the winter, have pro- 
tected the developing blossoms and fruit from the danger 
of spring frosts, and have brought them unharmed past 
the strongholds of their enemies, insects and diseases, we 
have a right to expect as our reward luscious, mellow, fra- 
grant fruit; and whether we expect to eat it soon after 
gathering, or to store it away to eat in the long winter 
evenings as we are gathered about the fire, we must 
exercise care in harvesting it. 

Three rules, which need no explanation, should be ob- 
served at picking time : 



310 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



(1) Pick in the cool of the morning. 

(2) Handle the fruit as few times as possible. 

(3) Avoid bruising it as much as possible. 




Fig. 142. — Boxes of apples. 

Fruits which are to be stored away, such as apples and 
pears, should be picked while they are firm, wrapped in 
papers, and packed away in boxes in a cool cellar where the 
dry, hot air from a furnace room can not reach them. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is meant by the term horticulture. 

2. Name three important fruits which originated in America 
and three which originated in foreign countries. 

3. Name four points to be considered in locating an orchard. 

4. Why do we cut back young trees and vines at the time of 
transplanting ? 

5. Under what two conditions do fruit buds form ? 

6. Upon wood of what age is the fruit of the grape, the peach 
and the apple borne? 

7. Give five reasons for pruning. 

8. Name three rules to follow in picking fruit. 

9. Name two classes of insects, telling means of control. 



CHAPTER XXII 
VEGETABLE GROWING 

Those plants, known as vegetables, which are grown for 
their roots, stems, leaves, or fruits, may be roughly divided 
into cool season crops and warm season crops. There are 
some plants, which must be started in the cool season, but 
which continue to grow throughout the summer. Plants 
of this kind ^vill be considered here among the cool season 
crops. 

232. Cool Season Crops. — Almost all of the vegetables 
which are grown for their roots,' stems or leaves, fall into this 
class. 

The seed of those which are grown for their roots, such 
as the radish, carrot, parsnip and beet, will germinate 
while the soil is yet quite cool and make their best growth 
before the heat of summer comes on. In order to succeed 
well, all of the root crops require a deep, rich, loose, mellow, 
cool soil, plenty of surface cultivation and enough moisture 
and cool weather to keep them growing rapidly. 

The potato, which may also be regarded as a root crop, 
though the tuber is really an underground stem, likewise 
dehghts in a cool chmate and a rich, deep, cool soil, which 
contains enough humus to give it a large moisture-holding 
capacity. 

Onions, together with a number of less common vege- 
tables, such as the shallot, leek, garhc and chive, are known 
as bulb crops, for they all grow from, and produce a bud 
in the middle of a cluster of, shortened, thickened leaves, 

311 



312 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

known as a bulb. These plants thrive in a cool, moist, 
well tilled soil, rich in available plant food. 

Those vegetables, which are grown for their edible 
leaves, such as the cabbage, lettuce, spinach and others, 
are all cool season crops. 

233. Warm Season Crops. — Almost all of the vege- 
tables which are raised for their seed or fruits grow best 
in the warm part of the season. 

This rule has an important exception in the case of the 
pea. The smooth pea is among the first vegetables to be 
sown in the open ground. Wrinkled peas demand a 
shghtly warmer soil, though they may still be regarded 
as cool season plants. 

Beans, on the other hand, are very sensitive to cold 
and can not be safely planted until the soil is warm and 
" the oaks are in leaf." 

Sweet corn, like field corn, must not be planted until 
the ground is warm and the danger of frost is past. 

The tomato, egg plant and peppers, all related by the 
way, are warm, or even hot, season plants, and are easily 
cut down by the frosts of either spring or fall. 

The vine crops, such as the muskmelon, cucumber, 
pumpkin, squash and water-melon, are all sensitive to 
frost and require therefore a warm season and sunny 
weather. 

The sweet potato, which is a true root, succeeds best in 
a loose, warm, sandy soil and in a warm, sunny climate. 

234. Getting ahead of the Season. — Since many of 
the garden crops can not be planted in the open ground 
until late spring, — often not until nearly June in the 
northern part of the United States — • it is highly desir- 
able to start the plants in some favorable and protected 
place, from which they may be transplanted later to the 



VEGETABLE GROWING 



313 



open ground. The place where plants are usually started 
in this way is called a hotbed. 

Cabbage and lettuce may be started in these beds while 
the ground is yet frozen. Radishes and lettuce may be 
grown to maturity in them. Tomatoes may grow in these 
beds to be several in-ches tall before the ground outside 
is warm enough even to receive the seed. Muskmelons 
and water melons may be started in inverted pieces of sod 
in the hotbed and then transplanted when favorable 







Fig. 143. — A hotbed. 



weather comes on. In this way we can secure melons 
several weeks earlier than we could otherwise. 



EXERCISE 52 

Object. — To learn how to make and manage a hotbed. 

Procedure. — Select some place on or near the school 
ground where the soil is well drained. A south slope is 
preferable, and a gravelly or sandy soil drains better than 
one of heavy clay. 

Dig a pit two feet deep and as long and as wide as the 
window frame which you can secure to cover the hotbed. 
Build a frame out of lumber to hold your window sash, 
allowing it to slope as shown in Figure 143. 
' Secure a load of fresh, horse barn litter, of which about 
one half is bedding. Place this in a long, narrow pile three 
or four feet wide and about the same height. This manure 



314 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

should be moist, but not wet. It should be forked over^ 
every few days and kept moist by the addition of water as 
necessary, as this treatment will cause it to begin heating. 
When the pile has begun to steam uniformly, which usu- 
ally takes place after about two weeks, it may be placed in 
the pit which you have dug. This should be done by put- 
ting in a shallow layer, tramping or packing it down well, 
then- adding another layer, and so on until you have from 
twelve to eighteen inches of well packed manure in the 
bottom of the pit. This material will probably heat up 
quickly, cool down in a few days, and then begin gradually 
to heat again. When it begins to warm up the second 
time, it should be thoroughly tramped and then covered 
with about six inches of rich, mellow, sandy soil. 

A thermometer should be placed in the soil ; and when 
the temperature has again fallen below ninety degrees 
Fahrenheit, the seeds may be safely planted. We should 
keep in mind at this time that the cool season plants re- 
quire a lower temperature than the warm season crops. 

Plant some radishes, lettuce, cabbage and tomatoes in 
rows, and some melons in little squares of inverted sod. 
The rows should be far enough apart to prevent crowding. 

After the httle plants come up, it is necessary to watch 
the hotbed to see that they receive ventilation. The sash 
should be raised, or taken off entirely, on warm days, and 
closed down, or even covered over with old blankets during 
cold nights and days. Then, too, the watering must be 
done carefully. Apply enough with a watering pot to 
keep the soil moist, but not wet. Perhaps the best time to 
do this is about four o'clock in the afternoon. One good 
watering every other day, or even less frequently, is better 
than watering lightly, more often. 

1 For small hotbeds the manure may be taken from the barn 
and placed directly in the hotbed. 



VEGETABLE GROWING 315 

The soil should be kept stirred to keep down the weeds 
and to prevent baking. If the little plants are crowded, 
some of them should be removed. 

A cold frame is made in exactly the same way as a 
hotbed, o'nly that the pit, containing the heated manure, 
is omitted. 

From the hotbed, the plants may be taken to the cold 
frame to be " hardened " before they are finally trans- 
planted into the garden. 

Conclusion. — • Write a brief account in your notebook 
of the method of making a hotbed, the time required by 
the various seeds to germinate and reach the surface, 
and the management of it until the young plants are trans- 
planted or otherwise disposed of. 

235. In the Garden Proper. — Now that we have at- 
tended to those vegetables which may be grown, or at 
least started in the hotbed, let us turn our attention to the 
garden itself. 

The ground should have been fall plowed, or spaded, 
and during the winter it should have had an appHcation 
of well rotted barnyard manure to provide plant food 
and to make the soil more mellow when worked into the 
ground. 

Our next task is to make a plan of the garden in order 
that we may know just where each vegetable is to be 
planted. In making this plan, we must bear in mind that 
good gardeners no longer use the old-fashioned beds, for 
they are hard to weed and moreover cultivation must be 
done largely by hand. Long, straight rows give a garden 
a very neat appearance and permit the use of that great 
labor saver, the wheel hoe. 

Prepare in your notebook a plat of your home garden. 
Make the scale such that one inch on the paper represents 
twenty feet in the garden. The size should depend upon 



316 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



the number of people that are to be suppHed by it with fresh 
and winter vegetables. A well managed garden one 
hundred by one hundred fifty feet should supply five per- 



sons. 



The following diagram will assist you in making your 
plan : 



i 



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VEGETABLE GROWING 317 

236. The First Planting. — There are several of the cool 
season crops that we shall want to plant at once. Among 

them are : 

^gg^s _ Hardly any other vegetables are more easily 
raised than beets. If you plant the rows eighteen inches 
apart in a loose, cool soil, and cultivate with the wheel 
or hand hoe frequently to conserve the moisture and to 
keep down the weeds, you will soon have a row of vigor- 
ously growing young beet plants. You should pull out 
enough of them to allow the remainder to stand six or eight 
inches apart. The tops of the young beets which you re- 
move will make excellent greens. 

Later sowings may be made every two weeks into the 
early summer. In the South, they are frequently used 
even as a fall crop. 

Cahhage. — li we have succeeded in raising stocky, 
thrifty young cabbage plants in the hotbed, and have 
transplanted them into a cold frame or perhaps a frame 
covered with cloth so as to expose them to weather condi- 
tions down nearly to freezing to make them hardy, we are 
almost certain of very early, crisp cabbages. 

At this time, the plants may be set in the open ground, 
for they will endure considerable frost without injury. 
The transplanting, however, should be done with care. 
Near the close of the day, begin by opening the rich, 
mellow soil with the hands or with a small garden shovel. 
Place a plant in each hole, draw only enough dirt loosely 
about it to hold it in place, and then pour in about half 
a pint of water. The following morning, hoe the dirt 
carefully about them, making the surface of the soil level. 
This same method of transplanting should be followed 
with tomatoes or any other plants which we may set out. 
Cabbages should be set about two feet apart each way. 
They should be cultivated very frequently to conserve the 



318 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

moisture and should be dusted if necessary with hellebore 
to destroy the cabbage worms. 

Late cabbage may be sown in open beds and trans- 
planted to the fields as late as the middle of June. The 
early cabbages should be used as soon as ripe or the heads 
will tend to burst open. 

Carrots. — These may be sown as soon as the soil is in 
suitable condition in the spring. The earth must be 
finely pulverized as the seeds germinate slowly. Inas- 
much as the young plants are somewhat delicate, they are 
easily overcome by weeds. 

Perhaps we should mark the carrot rows, which are to be 
eighteen inches apart, by sowing a few radish seeds in them. 
These will germinate quickly, breaking the crust over the 
carrot seeds. Our task after this is simply to thin out the 
young carrot plants until they stand from three to five 
inches apart and to cultivate them with the wheel hoe to 
keep out the weeds and to keep a mulch on the surface of 
the ground. 

Lettuce. — Few vegetables are appreciated any more 
in the spring and early summer than fresh, crisp lettuce, 
and, moreover, it is easily grown. 

The plants may be started in the hotbed and trans- 
planted into the garden if we wish " to get ahead of the 
season " ; or the seeds may be sown directly into mellow, 
rich soil. Frequent cultivation should be given to hasten 
the growth of the crop. 

Lettuce belongs to that group of plants called " salad 
crops," and a good salad depends upon the crispness of the 
material used. It may be sown at intervals of two or three 
weeks in any space available in the garden until the heat 
of summer comes on. It may be sown again as a fall crop. 

Onions. — Both the seeds and the sets of these vege- 
tables may be planted. The latter produce the young. 



VEGETABLE GROWING 319 

green table onions so desirable in the early part of the 
season, while the seed is used to grow the main crop for 
fall and winter use. Onions from sets are easily and 
quickly grown, but the crop grown from the seeds requires 
special attention. 

They are sown thickly in the row ; and as soon as the 
little plants have pushed above the soil far enough to be 
seen, they should be thinned out. As beginners, it will 
perhaps be well for us to confine our efforts to raising 
onions from sets. Only by strict attention to the soil, 
which must be loose, rich and cool, by much tedious labor 
in thinning, and by close and frequent cultivation, may 
we expect to raise a crop of onions from the seed. 

Parsnips. — These vegetables also revel in a cool, loose, 
deep soil, in which their long, tapering roots may develop 
without branching. The seed may be sown as soon as the 
soil is warm in the spring and will occupy the ground 
throughout the entire summer. In fact, most parsnips 
are allowed to remain in the ground all winter as freezing 
does not injure them. However, if one wants parsnips 
for winter use, they must be dug in the fall and stored, 
preferably in moist sand in a cool cellar. In planting 
parsnips, as in the case of carrots, it is advisable to mark 
the row by planting a few radish seeds in it. The distances 
between the rows and between the plants in the row are 
the same as those between carrots. 

Potatoes. — You will notice by the home garden plan 
shown in Figure 144, that only early potatoes were included, 
and these were to be removed as soon as they were large 
enough to be eaten, after which the space was to be de- 
voted to celery. If enough potatoes are to be raised to 
supply the entire family throughout the year, they should 
usually be planted in a space outside the garden where they 
may be cultivated by horse power. 



320 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Early potatoes may be started in the hotbed or in a box 
of sandy soil in a window. If this is done, the best results 
are obtained by planting whole potatoes of medium size 
and removing all of the sprouts as they appear except 
the strongest one. In three or four weeks, the plant will 
have made thrifty growth. It may then be transplanted 







• 

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Fig. 145. — Harvesting potatoes. 



to the garden and new potatoes gathered from it several 
days or even weeks before those which were planted as 
dormant tubers on the same date in the open ground. 

New potatoes begin to appear in the markets of the 
northern cities in February and March. These are grown 
in Florida. During the months from February to July, 
northern markets are suppHed by gardens in succession 



VEGETABLE GROWING 



321 



from Florida northward. In July, these markets are sup- 
pHed by home gardeners. 

No matter where the grower Uves, he knows that the 
potato dehghts in a cool, rich, moist sandy loam. The 
Florida man found his soil cool in January, the Wisconsin 
man, in June. Each planted his tubers perhaps a little 
more than three inches 
deep, gave the plants 
frequent, shallow till- 
age, sprayed them 
with Bordeaux mix- 
ture (Exercise 37) to 
keep the spores of dis- 
ease from germinating, 
and with lead arsenate 
(Section 230) to kill 
the insects. 

The movement of 
the potato harvest 
from south to north 
shows that the plant 
thrives best in a cool 
soil and accounts for 
the fact that most of 
our potatoes for win- 
ter use are grown in 
Maine, New York, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. 

Radishes. — Radish seeds have already been used to 
mark the rows of carrots and parsnips, and these will 
probably furnish enough radishes for early table use. If 
not, more seed may be sown in nearly any place in the gar- 
den. It will germinate quickly and the crop will thrive. 

Tender, crisp radishes can be produced only when the 




Fig. 146. — Bunch of radishes. 



322 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

growth of the plants is rapid and continuous, and for this 
reason, mellow, rich land is best. Successive plantings 
of radish seed should be made at intervals of about ten 
days until the hot weather comes on. A continuous 
supply of these vegetables can easily be secured if the 
season is at all favorable. 

Spinach. — One of the most popular plants for greens 
is spinach. We may sow the seed very early in the spring, 
and in the cool, moist weather, the plants grow rapidly, 
producing an abundant supply of fresh, green leaves. 

Turnips. — The turnip is as easy to grow as the radish, 
and the soil, season and cultural methods of the two plants 
are the same. 

Early turnips are sown as soon as the soil is warm enough 
to receive them. The young vegetables are eaten fresh. 
A fall crop, the main crop, is sown in the latter part of July, 
or even later farther south, matures during the cool weather 
of fall and is harvested before the temperature fahs to 
freezing. 

A turnip or radish which grows and matures quickly is 
crisp and sweet; one which grows slowly is woody and 
bitter. 

Peas. — Two types of peas should be recognized : those 
with smooth seed coats and those whose seed coats are 
wrinkled. 

The smooth-seeded varieties, such as the " Alaska " 
or " First and Best," may be planted with the earliest of 
the cool season crops, while the wrinkled varieties, such as 
" Nott's Excelsior," should not be planted until two weeks 
later, or even more, as the seed will rot if cold, wet weather 
comes on. 

The early varieties are usually rather low growing and 
require no support for their pods, while the late varieties 
tend to form vines and produce the best pods when sup- 



VEGETABLE GROWING 



323 



ported by brush or wire netting. These tall varieties are 
sown in rows three or four feet apart, while the "dwarf" 
varieties may be planted as near together as eighteen 
inches. The seeds of both kinds are planted about two 
inches apart in the row and covered about two and one 
half inches deep. 

237. When the Danger of Frost is past. — In making our 
plans for the warm season crops, we may study ^rs^, those 
plants which were started in 
the hotbed, and second, those 
whose seeds are planted di- 
rectly in the warm, open soil. 

Tomatoes. — These plants 
need a long, warm growing 
season and therefore thrive 
best in the South. By start- 
ing the plants under glass, 
however, and transplanting 
them to cold frames later, 
stocky, vigorous plants may 
be produced, which are well on 
their way by the time warm 
weather arrives. In this way, 
tomatoes are grown even 
north of the Canadian line. 

In any locality, the best to- 
matoes are grown on a rich, 
moist soil. In addition to 
this, some means must be pro- 
vided of keeping the vines up 

out of the dirt. A Avooden or wire frame may be placed 
under the vines to hold them up, or they may be pruned to 
a single stem and tied up to a stake, or lath. In fact, some 




U. S. Dcpt. of Agriculture. 

Fig. 147. — Pruned tomato 
vines. 



324 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



of the finest tomatoes are raised by the latter method. The 
pruning checks the growth, which induces earlier fruiting 
and permits the growth of more vines in a row of given 
length. If the vines are not pruned and they are found 
making plant growth at the expense of fruit growth, the 
terminal buds should be pinched out. 

Sweet Potatoes. — In the South, 
sweet potatoes are called potatoes, 
while other potatoes are called 
Irish potatoes. This goes to 
show that the sweet potato is 
really most at home in the warm, 
sandy soil south of the Ohio and 
Missouri rivers. 

Young plants may be secured 
by planting the sweet potatoes, 
either whole or split once length- 
wise, in the hotbed and covering 
them with four or five inches of 
sand. When the plants have 
attained some size, and the soil is 
warm, they may be transplanted 
to ridges in the open ground. 
These ridges are usually made 
three feet apart, and the plants 
on the ridges are set from one to 
two feet apart. Special cultiva- 
tors, or the hand hoe, are used to keep the soil free from 
weeds. 

Celery. — One of the most unsatisfactory crops to at- 
tempt to grow is celery. 

The seeds start very slowly in the hotbed, — the plants 
are delicate, can not endure hot, dry winds, and they 
demand a cool, very rich, and very moist soil. Moreover, 




Fig. 148. — A roasting ear. 



VEGETABLE GROWING 



325 



after careful tillage, the plants must still be blanched by 
banking earth or leaning boards against the stems. 

If by careful preparation of the soil, by transplanting 
the small plants to level ground or to the bottom of a fur- 
row, by painstaking cultivation and banking, you succeed 
in raising celery, you will 
often find the home- 
grown product superior 
to that purchased at the 
market. 

Celery is grown in im- 
mense fields of reclaimed 
muck or swamp land in 
Michigan and California. 

Sweet Corn. — Like 
other corn, this is a 
warm season crop, de- 
manding a great deal of 
sunlight, moisture and 
available plant food. 

Sweet corn, or sugar 
corn, in common with 
other vegetables grown 
for their seeds, is never 
transplanted. We 
should remember, how- 
ever, that some varie- 
ties mature more quickly 
than others and endure a 
little more cold weather. 
Our first planting, which 
should not be made until 
the soil is fairly warm, should be of the small-stalked 
varieties, such as the ^' Early Minnesota," the ''Golden 




Fig. 149. — Lima beans. 



326 



SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 



Bantam," or the " Peep-o'-Day." A week or two after 
the first planting, some such variety as the ^' Country 
Gentleman" may be planted. Late plantings should be 
of the large-stalked, large-yielding, sweeter varieties of the 
type of " Stowell's Evergreen." The cultivation of sweet 
corn is similar to that of field corn. 

Beans. — These are divided into two classes, string 
beans and Lima beans. While both are warm season 



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Fig. 150. — Young melon plants are this much ahead of the season if 
started in overturned sods or boxes. 

crops, and can not be planted until the danger of frost is 
past, the Lima beans require even a higher temperature 
than the others. In fact, it is best to delay the planting 
of the Limas until fully two weeks after it is deemed safe 
to plant the string beans. 

Of the string beans, there are two classes, the green and 
the wax beans. Both are easily grown, requiring only 
good tillage, and if the '' vining " varieties are raised, 
a support, such as is provided for tall peas. 

Dwarf Lima beans are now grown, although less than 
thirty years ago only the pole Limas were known. The 
dwarf, small-seeded varieties are rather to be preferred 
for a home garden, though an Indian '^ wigwam " built 



VEGETABLE GROWING 



327 



of slender poles, or even a single pole, driven into the 
ground, will support the large Limas which grow from 
.eight to ten feet tall and produce heavy crops of seed. 

Vine Crops. — Cucumbers, watermelons, muskmelons, 
pumpkins and squashes, which are known as vine crops, 
may all be considered together, for in their manner of 
growth, as well as in their soil and moisture requirements, 
they are very much alike. 







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Copyright The Gerlach-Barklow Co. 
Ready for the table. 



Pumpkins and squashes are usually planted in the open 
ground after the danger of frost is past. We are not usu- 
ally concerned as to when they will ripen, for we think of 
them in connection wdth the autumn frosts. 

On the other hand, we are anxious to have watermelons 
and muskmelons mature as early in the season as possible. 
In starting either melons or cucumbers, our hotbed again 
comes into use. By making paper boxes of heavy cardboard, 
by using w^ooden strawberry boxes and filling them with rich 



328 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

earth, or even by making use of small squares of sod, turned 
upside down, a seed bed is secured. Here the plants may 
grow for several weeks ; and when the ground has become 
warm enough, they may be taken to the field and trans- 
planted, care being taken to avoid disturbing the roots. 
The precautions to be taken in growing vine crops are : 

(1) Provide well drained, rich soil ; and for watermelons, 
choose a sandy one if possible. 

(2) Plant the seed in hills far enough apart to allow the 
vines to spread. The distances should vary from four by 
four feet for cucumbers to eight by eight feet or more for 
watermelons. 

(3) Thin out the plants in each hill, leaving only three 
or four of the strongest ones. 

(4) Remove the first plants that show melon bugs or 
lice. If this does not check them, spray with Black Leaf 
40. (Section 230.) 

(5) If the striped beetles appear, cover the vines with 
small frames of mosquito netting, spray with dilute Bor- 
deaux mixture and lead arsenate, or dust lightly once or 
twice a day with sifted ashes, gypsum or other fine powder. 

(6) Cultivate between the rows frequently until the 
vines become too long. Then use the hoe. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Divide vegetable crops into two groups according to the 
season in which the seed is planted. Name five vegetables of 
each group. 

2. Tell fully how to make and manage a hotbed. 

3. What is a cold frame and how is it made? 

4. Tell briefly how to plant cabbages in the hotbed, harden 
them in the cold frame and transplant them into the garden. 

5. Divide peas into two classes and tell when each should be 
sown. 

6. Are onion seeds rather to be chosen than sets for the home 
garden ? Why ? 



VEGETABLE GROWING 329 

7. How may you secure ''extra early" potatoes? Where 
is most of our winter supply of potatoes grown? Why? 

8. What two classes of beans do we have and when should 
each be sown? 

9. Tell briefly how to grow tomatoes in the hotbed, how to 
transplant them, and how to prune them to a single vine. 

10. Name five rules to follow in growing vine crops. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 

The land in the United States of America has been called 
the " floor space of the nation." The work for three hun- 
dred years has been to occupy this floor space. Forests 
have been cut down, swamps have been drained, and 
streams have been spread out to furnish moisture for fields 
in places where little came from the clouds. 

So long as there was new land to occupy, — rich fields 
awaiting the plow, — there was food in plenty and to spare. 
Now, however, there is little new land to occupy, and the 
number of mouths that must be fed continues to increase. 

Land can no longer be abused and then thrown back 
upon a generous Nature to repair the waste of man. 

The soil has been compared to money in the savings 
bank, upon which the interest only may be drawn each 
year. If more than this is wanted, we begin to draw upon 
the principal. That is to say, a certain amount of plant 
food — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc. — is un- 
locked each year by the rain, the frost and the unseen or- 
ganisms of the soil. 

Certain plants take out more of a given element than 
do others. While clover, for example, is taking out a 
great deal of potash, the store of nitrogen in the soil is 
increasing ; and when corn later begins to draw upon the 
nitrogen, the drain upon the potassium is lessened. 

It is definitely known just how much of each element 
is taken out of the soil by each crop. It therefore 

330 



PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 331 

becomes a matter of good farming to restore to the land 
in some way that which is removed from it by the crops 

grown in it. 

We may, it is true, increase our crop yields by the selec- 
tion of better seed, by the selection of superior varieties, 
by improved methods of cultivation, or otherwise ; but a 
permanent agriculture, upon which the future prosperity 
of the nation depends, rests finally upon the maintenance 
of fertility oi the soil. 

238. The Result of selling Crops from the Land. — The 

fertility of the soil is very largely, though not altogether, 
a matter of the presence in it of those elements which 
plants must have in order to make healthy growth, — par- 
ticularly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. (Section 7.) 
Let us suppose that an acre of ground produces a crop 
of fifty bushels of ear corn. This amount of corn contains 
approximately fifty pounds of nitrogen, nine pounds of 
phosphorus and fifteen pounds of potassium ; and if the 
crop is sold, these three elements will be lost from the farm 
in the amounts named. 

The small grains do not remove so much fertihty from 
the soil as does corn, since the amount of food material 
which they produce is actually much less. Thus a crop 
of twenty bushels of wheat per acre takes twenty-four 
pounds of nitrogen and about fi.ve pounds each of phos- 
phorus and potassium from the land, while a fifty-bushel 
crop of oats removes from the soil approximately thirty- 
two pounds of nitrogen, six pounds of phosphorus and 
eight pounds of potassium. 

Timothy may remove even more of the elements of 
fertihty from the soil than do the small grains. A crop 
yielding one and one half tons of hay per acre, takes 
about thirty-seven pounds of nitrogen, seven pounds of 



332 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

phosphorus and twenty-five pounds of potassium from the 
land. 

In a very true sense, then, the farmer who sells his crop 
to others is really selhng the fertihty of his soil ; or we 
may say that, little by little, he is selling the land itself. 
To continue such a practice year after year must inevitably 
result in the gradual exhaustion of the soil. It is chiefly 
due to this fact that much of the land of the older sections 
of the country has become, as we say, '^ worn out," by 
which we mean that it has reached the stage at which it 
will not produce crops that will yield a profit above the 
actual cost of care and cultivation. 

239. How the Three Important Elements of Fertility 
may be restored to the Soil. — 

Nitrogen. — The store of nitrogen in the soil may be in- 
creased in three ways : 

(1) By growing legumes. 

(2) By the application of barnyard manure. 

(3) By the application of commercial fertilizers. 

How the bacteria which live on the roots of legumes take 
nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that 
plants can use was explained in Section 180. The actual 
amount of nitrogen that is received from the air in this 
way by the legumes varies with the different plants. A 
crop of red clover, sweet clover or crimson clover, yielding 
one and one half tons of hay per acre, receives from the 
air as a rule between sixty and seventy pounds of nitrogen ; 
a cutting of alfalfa or cowpeas, yielding the same amount 
of hay per acre, contains usually from seventy to eighty 
pounds of nitrogen which has been taken from the air ; 
and it follows that if a crop of any one of these plants which 
would yield a ton and a half of hay per acre were plowed 
under, nitrogen would be added to each acre of the soil 



PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 333 

in the amount named. To cut the hay and sell it from the 
farm however, would give a far different result. In this 
a^'little or n^ nitrogen would be added to the sojl by the 
legume since the amount contained m the roots and tubble 
is usually about the same as that which these plants have 
actually drawn from the soil itself ; but on the other hand 
the land would lose heavily in phosphorus and potassium, 
owing to the fact that legumes take large amounts of these 

elements from the soil. . , -t 

By the application of barnyard manure, ««* only nitro- 
gen but also phosphorus and potassium may be added to 
the soil A ton of ordinary barnyard manure contains 
about ten pounds of nitrogen, two pounds of phosphorus 
and eight pounds of potassium. If we compare these 
figures with the amounts of the same elements removed 
from an acre of ground by a fifty-bushel crop of corn, we 
see that it would require the application of about hve 
tons of manure per acre to replace the nitrogen removed 

by a single corn crop. •. „ 

The use of commercial fertilizers to restore mtrogen 
to the soil is much more general in the older sections of 
our country than in the newer parts where the virgin 
fertility has not been altogether exhausted and where the 
clovers may be more easily grown. The fertilizers which 
are commonly used to add mtrogen to the soil are as fol- 

^°Xdmm nUrale, called also Chile saltpeter^ Each 
hundred pounds of this product contains from Mteen i^ 
,ixt^n pounds of nitrogen. It should be apphed tojje 
land after plants have begun to grow, as it dissolves read, y 
and is soon leached or washed out of the soil. It should 
be mixed with three or four times its weight of soil, as 
otherwise it may injure the growing plants. The amoun 
used varies from one hundred to two hundred pounds 



334 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

per acre ; and to secure the best results, this is not all 
applied at one time but two or three applications in smaller 
amounts are made during the growing season. 

Ammonium sulfate, which contains about twenty-one 
per cent of nitrogen, is often used. It is quite effective ; 
but a rather serious objection to it is found in the fact 
that it apparently tends to leave the soil acid. 

Calcium nitrate, which is manufactured chiefly in 
Norway, and which contains about twelve per cent of 
nitrogen, is a highly satisfactory fertilizer save for the 
fact that the nitrogen in it is rather more expensive than 
that in the products named above. 

Fish fertilizers, consisting usually of the dried, ground 
bodies of the menhaden, are often used with excellent 
results. They contain from eight to eleven per cent of 
nitrogen as a rule and also from one to two per cent of 
phosphorus. 

Phosphorus. — Unlike nitrogen, this element can not 
be restored to the soil by growing legumes or any other 
special crops. Rather it can be added only in the form 
of barnyard manure, as already stated, or in the form of 
commercial fertilizers. 

The commercial fertilizers commonly used for this 
purpose are : 

Ground phosphate rock, or floats. This rock is quarried 
in Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee and some of the 
western states. It is also called rock phosphate or in- 
soluble phosphate of lime. It contains from eleven to 
thirteen per cent of phosphorus. It is insoluble in water 
and for this reason could not be used as a fertilizer at all 
but for the fact that it is very gradually dissolved by the 
acids which are formed by the decay of the humus in the 
soil. It is usually applied with barnyard manure. Its 
effects are not quickly seen as a rule but extend over a 



PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 335 

period of several years, increasing during the first three or 
four years. 

Calcium acid phosphate, called also simply acid phos- 
phate, soluble phosphate of lime, one lime phosphate, 
superphosphate, etc. It is soluble in water and hence 
gives quick results though the effects are not seen so long 
as in the case of floats. An average sample contains 
about seven per cent of phosphorus. 

Ground or steamed hone, which is chemically nearly the 
same as floats, and which contains from ten to eleven per 
cent of phosphorus in addition to about two and a half 
per cent of nitrogen. 

Basic slag, a by-product of the manufacture of steel, 
is considerably used as a source of phosphorus. It con- 
tains from six to nine per cent of this element. It dis- 
solves very slowly and hence should be finely ground. 

Potassium. — Most new soils contain enough potassium 
to supply the needs of plants for a very long time. How- 
ever, sandy soils, or newly drained swamp land, may be 
deficient in this element as well as those soils which 
have been long under cultivation. It may be restored 
only in the form of barnyard manure or commercial 
fertilizers. 

The chief commercial fertilizers containing potassium 
are : 

Potassiuin chloride, called also muriate of potash. 
It gives satisfactory results for ordinary crops ; but pota- 
toes, tobacco, sugar beets and other plants which use 
much potassium appear to be injured by the chlorine 
present. 

Potassium sulfate, which is of special value for those 
crops which are injured by the chloride. 

Kainite, which contains from ten to twelve per cent of 
potassium in the form of both chloride and sulfate. 



336 SOILS AND PLANT LIFE 

240. The Care and Importance of Barnyard Manure. — 
About eighty per cent of the essential elements contained in 
the grain and hay fed to live stock is returned in the excre- 
ment. If the manure, both solid and liquid, is carefully 
preserved and returned to the soil without loss, only 
about twenty per cent of the fertility contained in the crops 
fed is lost from the land. Usually, however, the manure 
is not properly handled ; and as a result, about one third 
of the fertility which it contains is lost. In this case, 
but little more than half of the fertility taken from the 
soil in the crops gets back to it again. 

It follows that no farm can maintain its fertility indefi- 
nitely simply by feeding the crops which it produces to 
live stock and returning the manure to the land. If the 
fertility is to be maintained by means of barnyard manure, 
it is necessary either to secure some from an outside source 
to be added to that which the farm produces or to purchase 
supplementary feeds or grain from others and feed them 
on the farm. 

The chief losses of fertilizing elements from manure 
occur in three ways : 

(1) The manure is not protected from rains, and much 
of the fertility which it contains is leached, or washed out 
of it. This may be prevented by protecting it by a suit- 
able roof or by applying it at once to the fields. 

(2) The hquid manure is allowed to escape. Pound 
for pound, it is more valuable than the solid manure, owing 
to the large amount of nitrogen and potassium which it 
contains. Sufficient bedding should be used to absorb 
all of it, or it should be drained into a cistern to be ap- 
plied later to the land. 

(3) Much loss results from fermentation, by which 
nitrogen escapes in the form of ammonia. This fermenta- 
tion may be detected by the heating and steaming of the 



PERMANENT AGRICULTURE 



337 



manure heap or even by the odor of ammonia about the 
barnyard. It is due to bacteria which can exist only in 
the presence of air ; and if the manure heap is kept com- 
pact and moist, it may be easily prevented. 

Notwithstanding the necessity of supplementing barn- 
yard manure with legumes or with other fertilizers, it is 
still true that it is by far the most valuable fertilizing 
agent known. The farm, on which all crops produced 
are fed to live stock and the manure carefully preserved 
and returned to the land, will continue profitable produc- 
tion from three times to five times as long as will one 
from which all crops are sold. It is for this reason that 
'^ stock " farms are almost invariably found to be more 
productive than adjoining '' grain " farms. It follows 
of course that there should be enough live stock on every 
farm to consume all, or practically all, the grain and forage 
which it produces. 




EQUIPMENT 

A list of apparatus, which will assist the student in per- 
forming the exercises outlined in the foregoing lessons, is 
given below : ^ 

20 12-oz. Gas Bottles, or Wide-mouthed Preserve Jars. 
6 Small Steel or Iron Frying Pans. 
1 Trip Scale with Rider. 
1 Set Avoirdupois Weights, 1 lb. to ^ oz. 

1 Set Metric Weights, 1 Kg. to 5 g. 

20 Tin Cans, No. 3, with hds and bottoms removable. 
20 circular pieces Screen Wire, slightly larger than lids of cans 
above. 

2 Thermometers, Soil or Dairy preferred. 
20 Test Tubes, 6 x f ", with corks to fit. 

1 Glass Graduate, 100 c.c. 
20 One-hole Rubber Stoppers to fit test tubes above. 
20 Glass Tubes, 2" in diameter and 15" long ; or ordinary lamp 
chimneys may be used. 

5 Racks to hold tubes above. 

10 Wire Baskets, factory- or home-made of screen wire, 6" in 
diameter and 6" deep. 

6 Books Blue Litmus Paper. 
6 Books Red Litmus Paper. 

4 Medium Size Alcohol Stoves. 

1 Galvanized Iron Pail with Vertical Sides, capacity 3 gals. 
6 Granite or Agate Pans, capacity 2 qts. 
12 Hand Lenses. 
1 gal. Denatured Alcohol. 
8 oz. Saturated Iodine Solution. 
4 lbs. Paraffin. 

^ This list includes enough apparatus for twenty students, working in groups of 
four. 

338 



EQUIPMENT 339 

1 lb. 40 % Formalin. 

5 lbs. Blue Vitriol, or Copper Sulfate. 

5 lbs. Fresh Unslaked Lime, to be kept in fruit jars, or other- 

wise protected from the air. 
1 lb. Beeswax. 
^ lb. Raw Linseed Oil. 

6 Small Muslin Sacks for holding soil samples. 

Seeds of Rough Rice, Teparie Beans, Wax Beans, Corn, 
Wheat, and Oats. 
J lb. Absorbent Cotton. 
24 pieces No. 14 Wire, 8" long. 
6 Safety Razor Blades. 



PUBLICATIONS 

No list of bulletins is here suggested, inasmuch as the 
ones now available may be out of print at any time ; and 
moreover, new ones are being continually added to the 
list. 

The list of available publications from any station 
may be secured at any time ; and it is suggested that 
if bulletins are needed, such a list be secured from the 
station or stations as desired. 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Bureau of Publications 

Alabama. — College Station : Auburn. 

Canebrake Station : Uniontown. 

Tuskegee Station : Tuskegee Institute. 
Alaska. — Sitka. 
Arizona. — Tucson. 
Arkansas. — Fayetteville. 
California. — Berkeley. 
Colorado. — Fort Collins. 
Connecticut. — State Station : New Haven. 

Storrs Station : Storrs. 
Delaware. — Newark. 
Florida. — Gainesville. 
Georgia. — Experiment. 
Guam. — Island of Guam. 
Hawaii. — Federal Station : Honolulu. 

Sugar Planters' Station : Honolulu. 
Idaho. — Moscow. 
Illinois. — Urbana. 
Indiana. — ■ La Fayette. 
Iowa. — Ames. 
Kansas. — Manhattan. 
Kentucky. — Lexington. 
Louisiana. — State Station : Baton Rouge. 

340 



PUBLICATIONS 341 

Louisiana. — Sugar Station : Audubon Park, New Orleans. 

North Louisiana Station : Calhoun. 
Maine. — Orono. 
Maryland. — College Park. 
Massachusetts. — Amherst. 
Michigan. — East Lansing. 
Minnesota. — University Farm : St. Paul. 
Mississippi. — Agricultural College. 
Missouri. — College Station : Columbia. 

Fruit Station : Mountain Grove. 
Montana. — Bozeman. 
Nebraska. — Lincoln. 
Nevada. — Reno. 
New Hampshire. — Durham. 
New Jersey. — New Brunswick. 
New Mexico. — State College. 
New York. — State Station : Geneva. 
Cornell Station : Ithaca. 
North Carolina. — College Station : West Raleigh. 

State Station : Raleigh. 
North Dakota. — Agricultural College. 
Ohio. — Wooster. 
Oklahoma. — Stillwater. 
Oregon. — Corvallis. 
Pennsylvania. — State College. 

State College : Institute of Animal Nutrition. 
PoRTO Rico. — Federal Station : Mayaguez. 

Insular Station : Rio Piedras. 
Rhode Island. — Kingston. 
South Carolina. — Clemson College. 
South Dakota. — Brookings. 
Tennessee. — Knoxville. 
Texas. — College Station. 
Utah. — Logan. 
Vermont. — Burlington. 
Virginia. — Blackburg. 

Norfolk : Truck Station. 
Washington. — Pullman. 
West Virginia. — Morgantown, 
Wisconsin. — Madison. 
Wyoming. — Laramie. 



INDEX 



Acid soil, 252. 

effect on clovers, 252. 

litmus test for, 254. 

how corrected, 258. 
Agriculture defined, 287. 
Air, amount in soil, 25. 

in soil, effect upon temperature, 
31. 

space in soil, how increased, 25. 

why necessary in soil, 25. 
Alfalfa, 246. 

methods of culture, 267. 

range of, 246. 
Alsike, 249. 

methods of culture, 270. 

range of, 249. 
Anthers defined, 108. 
Apple, age of bearing wood, 298, 
295. 

how pruned, 302. 

Bacteria, how added to the soil, 
260. 

necessary to clovers, 255. 
Barley, climatic range, 221. 

preparation of seed bed for, 221. 

uses of, 221. 
Barnyard manure, care of, 336. 

composition of, 333. 

how fertility is lost from, 336. 

value of, 333, 337. 
Bast fibers, 105. 
Beans, how grown, 326. 
Beets, how grown, 317. 
Bermuda grass, 234. 

advantages of, 234. 

disadvantages of, 234. 

how propagated, 234. 

range and character of, 234. 
Blackberry, age of bearing wood, 
297. 

how pruned, 297, 301. 



Blue grass, 230. 

advantages of, 232. 

character and value, 230. 

disadvantages of, 232. 

seeding of, 231. 
Bordeaux mixture, how made, 131. 

how used, 131, 309. 

strength for stone fruits, 132. 
Bread mold, 126. 
Brome grass, 233. 

advantages of, 233. 

disadvantages of, 233. 

value of, 233. 

Cabbage, how grown, 317. 
Calyx defined, 108. 
Cambium layer defined, 104. 
Carbon, 10. 
Carbon dioxide, 69. 

given off by germinating seeds, 
69. 

test for, 69. 
Carrots, how grown, 318. 
Celery, how grown, 324. 
Cereals defined, 203. 

leading in various countries, 203. 
Chaffiness defined, 156. 
Cherry, pruning of, 301. 

age of bearing wood, 295. 
Cloddy fields, cause of, 39. 
Clover, crimson, 245. 

range of, 245. 

Japan, methods of culture, 270. 

Japan, range of, 242. 

red, methods of culture, 266. 

red, range of, 248. 

sweet, methods of culture, 269. 

sweet, range of, 248. 

white, methods of culture, 270. 
Clovers, causes of failure, 250. 

effect of acid soils, 252. 

effect of careless seeding, 256. 



343 



344 



INDEX 



Clovers (continued). 

effect of drouths, 257. 

effect of friendly bacteria, 255. 

effect of lack of humus, 255. 

effect of lack of phosphorus, 254. 

effect of nurse crop, 256. 

hard seeds of, 264. 

methods of seeding, 261. 

how to succeed with, 258. 

why sown with grasses, 236. 
Cold frame, how made, 315. 
Color of soil, effect on temperature, 

34. 
Corm defined, 229. 
Corn, acreage in United States, 149. 

Belt, how pushed northward, 54. 

climatic requirements of, 152. 

cultivation of, 191. 

depth of cultivation, 193. 

desirable characters of ear, 157. 

desirable characters of kernel, 162. 

desirable characters of stalk, 53. 

desirable butt described, 160. 

desirable shape of ear, 159. 

desirable size of ear, 158. 

desirable size of kernels, 163. 

desirable shape of kernels, 163. 

desirable tip described, 161. 

detasseling of, 116. 

distribution of, 150. 

effect of climate on type, 151. 

seed, how dried, 172. 

seed, how graded, 179. 

seed, how stored, 173. 

seed, how tested, 174. 

seed, selection in field, 169. 

frequency of cultivation, 195. 

harvesting of, 196. 

ideal seed bed for, 181. 

immaturity in, how recognized, 
155. 

listed, cultivation of, 200. 

moisture requirements, 152. 

planting, depth of, 188. 

planting, distance between rows, 
189. 

planting, methods of, 185. 

planting, number kernels in hill, 
189. 

planting, time of, 187. 

seed bed in cornstalk ground, 184. 



seed bed in sod ground, 182. 

seed bed in stubble ground, 185. 

replanting, 190. 

sensitiveness to climatic changes, 
152. 

soil requirements of, 154. 

substitute crops for, 198. 

sweet, how grown, 324. 

unsoundness in. how recognized, 
155. 

uses of, 149. 

why barren stalks are avoided, 55. 

why stalks with suckers are 
avoided, 55. 
Corolla defined, 108. 
Cotton, how ginned, 280. 

how harvested, 280. 

importance of, 275. 

methods of culture, 277. 

plant described, 276. 

range of, 275. 
Cottonseed meal, 282. 
Cotyledon defined, 62. 

effect of removing, 74. 
Cowpeas, methods of culture, 271. 

range of, 245. 
Cross-fertilization by hand, 113. 
Cross-fertilization defined, 113. 
Cucumbers, how grown, 327. 
Cultivation of corn, depth of, 193. 
Cultivation of corn, frequency of, 

195. 
Cultivation of listed corn, 200. 
Cuttings, 138. 

Decay, cause of, 126. 
Dicotyledon defined, 62. 
Dicotyledons, flowers of, 108. 

roots of, 84. 

seeds of, 63. 
Diseases, cause of, 126. 

how prevented, 128. 
Drouths, effects on clovers, 257. 
Drying seed corn, 172. 
Dura, 198. 

Earthworms, work done by, 9. 
Elements, essential, 10. 
Embryo, 62. 

enemies of, 46. 

how protected, 46. 



INDEX 



345 



Endosperm, 63. 

effect of removing, 73. 

Fertilization, cross-, 113. 

defined, 113. 

self-, 113. 
Feterita, 198. 
Fiber crops, leading, 274. 
Fibro-vascular bundles, 101. 
Filament, 108. 
Flax, methods of culture, 282. 

methods of handling, 283. 

range of, 282. 

value of products, 284. 
Flowers of dicotyledons, 108. 

of legumes, 238. 

of monocotyledons, 109. 

pistillate, 110. 

staminate, 110. 

fertilized by insects, 111. 

fertilized by wind, 111. 
Food, stored in leaves, 96. 

stored in roots, 87. 

stored in seed, 92. 

stored in stems, 137, 229. 

made from starch, 92. 

source of all, 92. 

travels how from leaves to roots, 
103. 
Formalin, use of, for oat smut, 128. 

use of, for potato scab, 130. 
Frost, prevention of injury by, 305. 
Fruit buds, age of wood bearing, 

295. 
Fruit buds, conditions favoring 
formation of, 293. 

how and when formed, 292. 
Fruit, gathering and storing, 309. 
Fruits, places of origin, 287. 
Fruit trees, cultivation of, 291. 

distances between, 289. 

how developed when young, 288. 

training of, 292. 

how planted, 290. 

Garden, plan of, 316. 
Germ defined, 46, 62. 
Germination, conditions of, 64. 

optimum temperatures for, 67. 
Girdling trees, effect of, 103. 
Glacier defined, 1. 



Glumes, 109. 

Grading of seed corn, 179, 
Grafting wax, 139. 
Graft, cleft, 142. 

whip, 140. 
Grape, age of bearing wood, 296. 

cultivation of, 291. 

method of planting, 291. 

method of pruning, 300. 
Grasses, characteristics of, 224. 

leading cultivated, 227. 

habit of growth, 226. 

range of each, 236. 

Heat from germinating seeds, 71. 
Hemp, how handled, 284. 

range of, 284. 
Hessian fly,' 2 10. 
Horticulture defined, 287. 
Hotbed, 313. 
Humus defined, 5. 

effect on air space in soil, 29. 

effect on soil structure, 37. 

effect on water-holding capacity, 
15. 

how added to soil, 259. 

necessary to clovers, 255. 
Hydrogen, 11. 
Hypocotyl, 62. 

Inoculation, defined, 260. 

method of, 260. 
Insects on vine crops, how com- 
bated, 328. 

prevention of injury by, 307. 

Kafir corn, 198. 

cultivation of, 200. 
planting of, 200. 

Leaf likened to a mill, 90. 
Leaves, functions and uses, 89. 

storage of food in, 96. 
Legumes, as nitrogen gatherers, 240. 

benefits of, 239. 

characteristics of, 238. 

flowers of, 238. 

range of, 242. 

securing maximum benefits from, 
272. 
Lettuce, how grown, 318. 



346 



INDEX 



Limestone, how applied to soil, 259. 

uses of, 258. 
Linseed meal, 284. 
Linseed oil, 284. 
Loam soil defined, 4. 

Manure, effect on air space, 29. 
Mice, prevention of injury by, 305. 
Milo maize, 198. 
Moisture, film or capillary, 19. 

hygroscopic, 19. 

in soil, effect on temperature, 33. 

necessary for germination, 65. 

requirements of corn, 152. 

why injurious to stored seeds, 
133, 173. 
Monocotyledon, defined, 62. 

seeds of, 63. 

flowers of, 109. 

leaves of, 225. 

roots of, 83. 

stems of, 101. 
Mulch, dust, 42. 

use of, 23. 
Muskmelons, how grown, 327. 

Nitrogen, 11. 

amount in barnyard manure, 333. 

amount in corn, 331. 

amount in oats, 331. 

amount in timothy, 331. 

amount in wheat, 331. 

commercial fertilizers contain- 
ing, 332. 

how added to soil by legumes, 
240. 

how restored to soil, 332. 

how lost in process of burning, 92. 
Nodules on roots, 240. 
Nurse crop, defined, 256. 

influence on clovers, 256. 

crops suitable for clovers, 260. 

Oatmeal, 219. 

Oats, character of crop, 213. 

advantages of stacking, 219. 

how planted, 215. 

how shocked, 218. 

loose smut of, 127. 
Oats, seed, desirable characters of, 
216. 



seed bed for, 215. 

seed, selection of, 216. 

spring, 214. 

used for hay, when cut, 218. 

uses of, 219. 

varieties of, 214. 

when harvested, 218. - 

winter, 214. 
Onions, how grown, 318. 
Orchard, location of, 289. 
Osmose, defined, 78. 

law of, 78. 
Ovule defined, 113. 
Oxygen, 11. 

necessary for germination, 65. 

Palea defined, 109. 
Parsnips, how grown, 319. 
Peach, age of bearing wood, 296. 

development of young tree, 144. 

how pruned, 301. 
Peas, how grown, 322. 
Petals defined, 108. 
Phosphorus, 11. 

amount in barnyard manure, 333. 

amount in corn, 331. 

amount in oats, 331. 

amount in timothy, 331. 

amount in wheat, 331. 

commercial fertilizers contain- 
ing, 334. 

necessary to clovers, 254. 
Photosynthesis defined, 89. 
Pistil defined, 108. 
Planting corn, methods of, 185. 

time of, 187. 

depth of, 188. 
Plants, classes according to useful 
parts, 144. 

how propagated, 124. 

life cycle of, 44. 

two great classes of, 62. 
Plowing under stubble and clods, 21. 
Plum, age of bearing wood, 295. 

pruning of, 301. 
Plumule defined, 62. 
Pollen, defined, 108. 

how carried from plant to plant, 
111. 
Pollination defined, 111. 
Potassium, 12. 



INDEX 



347 



Potassium (continued). 

amount in barnyard manure, 333. 

amount in corn, 331. 

amount in oats, 331. 

amount in timothy, 331. 

amount in wheat, 331. 

commercial fertilizers contain- 
ing, 335. 

how restored to soil, 335. 
Potatoes, how grown, 319. 

sweet, how grown, 324. 
Propagation, by budding, 142. 

by bulbs, 136. 

by grafting, 139. 

by layers, 135. 

by runners, 134. 

by seeds, 133. 

by spores, 124. 

by suckers, 135. 

by tip layers, 135. 
Protein, in leguines, 242. 

effect of feeding, 120. 
Pruning, methods of, 299. 

why necessary, 298. 

precautions necessary, 304. 
Pumpkins, how grown, 327. 

Rabbits, prevention of injury by, 

305. 
Radicle defined, 62. 
Radishes, how grown, 321. 
Raspberry, age of bearing wood, 297. 

how pruned, 301. 

methods of cultivation, 291. 
Redtop, advantages of, 233. 

disadvantages of, 233. 

range and character of, 232. 
Rice, how cared for, 223. 

how harvested, 223. 

how planted, 223. 

how prepared for use, 223. 

production of, in U. S., 222. 

seed bed for, 222. 

soil requirements of, 222. 

uses of, 224. 
Root hairs, origin of, 81. 
Roots, absorbing, 80. 

anchorage, 80. 

anchorage, origin of, 81. 

benefits of, 88. 

functions of, 77. 



food stored by, 87. 

how minerals are dissolved by, 79. 

how tips are protected, 82. 

of dicotyledons, 84. 

of monocotyledons, 83. 

rapidity of growth in early 
stages, 76. 

region of growth, 82. 

why moisture enters, 77. 
Rotation, benefits of, 29, 85. 

defined, 206. 

that is often recommended, 206. 
Rye, soil requirements of, 221. 

uses of, 221. 

Sands, shifting of, 85. 
Sappiness defined, 156. 
Seed analysis, 261. 
Seed bed for barley, 221. 

for corn, 181. 

for corn, how prepared, 182. 

for oats, 215. 

for rice, 222. 

for wheat, 207. 

for wheat, how prepared, 206. 
Seed collection, how made, 50. 

defined, 62. 

functions of, 46. 
Seedling, defined, 75. 

vigor of, how determined, 74, 76. 
Seeds, effect of moisture upon, 59. 

enemies of, 46. 

explosive or creeping, 48. 

first factors determining vitality 
of, 60. 

how scattered by man, 49. 

how scattered by nature, 46. 

how "scattered by animals, 48. 

how scattered by water, 47. 

how scattered by wind, 47. 

selection of, by man, 52. 

selection of, by nature, 52. 

size of, effect on seedlings, 73. 

storage of, by man, 58. 
Self-fertilization defined, 113. 
Sepals defined, 108. 
Shocking oats, methods of, 218. 
Sieve tubes, 103. 
Silt, 4. 
Soil acidity, effect on clovers, 252. 

test for, 254. 



348 



INDEX 



Soil binders, 85. 

Soil, how water is lost from, 13. 

how made, 1. 

how mixed and laid down, 2. 
Soil making, role of animarls in, 8. 

role of plants in, 7. 
Soil material, two sources of, 5. 
Soil names, 4. 
Soil requirements, of corn, 154. 

structure defined, 36. 

texture defined, 36. 
Soil, what it is, 1. 
Sorghums, characteristics of, 199. 
Soy beans, 249. 

methods of culture, 271. 
Spinach, how grown, 322. 
Spores causing disease or decay, 
126. 

how entrance is favored, 133. 

how spread, 127. 

how prevented from spreading, 
128. 

summer, 130. 

winter, 130. 
Spring defined, 17. 
Squashes, how grown, 327. 
Stacking grain, when advisable, 219. 
Stamens defined, 108. 
Starch, manufacture of, 89. 
Starchiness defined, 156. 
Stems, climbing, 99. 

erect, 99. 

forms of, 98. 

functions of, 98. 

prostrate, 98. 
Stigma defined, 108. 
Stomata defined, 93. 
Strawberries, how grown, 291. 

pruning of, 303. 
Structure of soil, crumb, 37. 

how affected by freezing, 37. 

how affected by humus, 38. 

of soil, puddled, 37. 

puddled, how caused, 37. 
Style defined, 109. 
Sulfur, 11. 
Sunscald, injury by, 306. 

Temperature of soil, how governed, 
30. 
optimum for germination, 30, 68. 



Tile drains, effect on air space, 29. 

how water enters, 18. 

why used, 18. 
Tillage, effect on air space, 28. 

why necessary, 36. 

when soil is wet, 39. 
Timothy, advantages of, 228. 

time of cutting, 229. 

use of, 227. 

where grown, 227. 
Tomatoes, how grown, 323. 
Trampling soils when wet, 39. 
Transpiration defined, 89. 
Tree, how to tell age of, 102. 
Tuber defined, 137. 
Turnips, how grown, 322. 

Vegetables, cool season, 311. 

warm season, 312. 
Vetches, methods of culture, 272. 

range of, 249. 
Vitality of seeds, how determined, 60. 

Water, amount given off by leaves, 
94. 

film, or capillary, 19. 

free, or gravity, 19. 
Water-holding capacity, how af- 
fected by humus, 15. 
Water-holding capacity of differ- 
ent soils, 16. 
Water, how lost from soil, 13. 

hygroscopic, 19. 

travels how from root to leaf, 101. 
Watermelons, how grown, 327. 
Weed seeds, weights of, 265. 
Weeds, when most easily destroyed, 

42. 
Wheat, climatic conditions re- 
quired, 205. 

harvesting of, 211. 

planting of, 210. 

seed bed for, 207. 

seed bed for, how prepared, 206. 

seed, desirable characters of, 208. 

selection of seed, 207. 

spring, 205. 

time of planting, 210. 

uses of, 212. 

why extensively grown, 203. 

winter, or fall, 205. 



Printed in the United States of America. 



'T^HE following pages contain advertisements of a 
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects 



Teaching of Agriculture in the High School 

By garland A. BRICKER 

Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Ohio State University 

With an Introduction by Dr. W. C. Bagley 

202 pages, $1.00 

A skilful exposition of the place of agriculture In the high 
school course of study which first defines the nature of sec- 
ondary agriculture, and then proceeds to discuss the rise and 
development of secondary agriculture In the United States; 
the social results of teaching secondary agriculture ; the psy- 
chological and the seasonal determination of sequence ; the 
organization of the course; the aim and methods of presen- 
tation ; and finally the educational alms, values, and Ideals 
In teaching agriculture In high schools. 

Materials and Methods in 
High School Agriculture 

By WILLIAM G. HUMMEL, M.S. 

Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education, University of California, and 

BERTHA R. HUMMEL, B.L.S. 

38s pages, $1.25 

This book has been prepared for the use of persons Inter- 
ested in the Introduction or in the teaching of agriculture In 
high schools of towns, cities, or rural communities where large 
numbers of students are drawn from the farming population, 
or where the prosperity of the high school community Is 
largely dependent upon agriculture. 

The first chapters give a general treatment of the reasons 
for placing agriculture In the high school course and the au- 
thors then proceed to discuss the method, the equipment, and 
the subject matter of the course. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



Three valuable high school hooks in the Rural Textbook Series. 
Prepared under the editorial supervision of Professor L. H. Bailey 

Harper : Animal Husbandry for Schools 

$1.40 

Written for the high school course, this book treats of horses, cattle, 
sheep, swine, and poultry, each discussed with reference to breeds, judging 
the animal, feeding, care, and management. Practical questions and labo- 
ratory exercises supplement the text and compel the student to think 
through each subject as he proceeds. 



Livingston : Field Crop Production 



^1.40 



This book is intended to meet the needs of agricultural high schools and 
of brief courses in the colleges. It is based on the results of actual studies 
at the experiment stations and it indicates the better way of performing 
every operation in the raising of crops, from selecting the field to harvest- 
ing and marketing the product. It treats in detail some eighteen individ- 
ual crops and explains fully the principles of crop rotation. 



Warren : Elements of Agriculture 



5/./0 



A book by a farmer, an agricultural expert, a professor of Farm Man- 
agement in the New York State College of Agriculture. The text covers 
such topics as: the improvement of plants and animals; the propagation 
of plants; plant food; the soil; maintaining the fertility of the land; 
some important farm crops ; enemies of farm crops; system of cropping; 
farms and feeding; the various animal types, in fjve chapters; farm man- 
agement; and the farm home. There is a valuable appendix and the text 
is excellently illustrated. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



Chemistry and its Relations to Daily Life 

By LOUIS KAHLENBERG and EDWIN B. HART 
Professors of Chemistry in the University of Wisconsin 

Cloth, j2mo, illustrated, JQJ pages. List price, $1.2$ 



If the contributions of chemical science to modern civilization 
were suddenly swept away, what a blank there would be ! If, on 
the other hand, every person were acquainted with the elements of 
chemistry and its bearing upon our daily life, what an uplift human 
efficiency would receive ! It is to further this latter end that this 
book has been prepared. Designed particularly for use by students 
of agriculture and home economics in secondary schools, its use will 
do much to increase the efficiency of the farm and the home. In 
the language of modern educational philosophy, it " functions in the 
life of the pupil." 

Useful facts rather than mere theory have been emphasized, 
although the theory has not been neglected. The practical char- 
acter of the work is indicated by the following selected chapter 
headings : 

IL The Composition and Uses of Water. 

rV^ The Air, Nitrogen, Nitric Acid, and Ammonia. 

IX. Carbon and Its Compounds. 

XII. Paints, Oils, and Varnishes. 

XIIL Leather, Silk, Wool, Cotton, and Rubber. 

XV. Commercial Fertilizers. 

XVL Farm Manure. 

XX. Milk and Its Products. 

XXL Poisons for Farm and Orchard Pests. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

64-66 FIFTH AVENUE 

BOSTON NEW YORK CITY DALLAS 

CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO 



BOOKS ON AGRICULTURE 



ON TILLAGE 



Bailey's Principles of Agriculture $1.25 

Hilgard's Soils 4.00 

King's The Soil • - 1.50 

King's Irrigation and Drainage ... ..... 1.50 

Livingston's Field Crop Production ........ 1.40 

Lyon and Fippin's The Principles of Soil Management .... 1.75 

Roberts's The Fertility of the Land , 1.50 

Snyder's Soils and Fertilizers 1.25 

Voorhees's Fertilizers 1.25 

Wheeler's Manures and Fertilizers . 1.60 

Widstoe's Dry Farming 1.50 

ON GARDEN-MAKING 

Bailey's Garden-Making .......... 1.50 

Bailey's Vegetable Gardening 1.50 

French's How to Grow Vegetables .1.75 

ON FRUIT GROWING, etc. 

Bailey's Fruit Growing , 1.75 

Bailey's The Pruning Book .......... 1.50 

Card's Bush Fruits 1.50 

ON THE CARE OF LIVE STOCK 

Harper's Animal Husbandry 1.40 

Jordan's The Feeding of Animals .1.50 

Lyon's How to Keep Bees for Profit 1.50 

Mayo's Diseases of Animals .......... 1.50 

Phillips's Beekeeping 1.50 

Valentine's How to Keep Hens for Profit 1.50 

Watson's Farm Poultry 1.50 

ON DAIRY WORK 

Eckles's Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 1.60 

Sheldon's The Farm and the Dairy i.oo 

Snyder's Dairy Chemistry 1.00 

Wing's Milk and its Products 1.50 

ON PLANT DISEASES 

Massee's Diseases of Cultivated Plants and Trees . . . . .2.25 

O'Kane's Injurious Insects .......... 2.00 

Slingerland and Crosby's Fruit Insects 2.00 

Stevens's Fungi of Plant Disease 4 00 

ON ECONOMICS AND ORGANIZATION 

Fairchild's Rural Wealth and Welfare 1.25 

Green's Law for the American Farmer 1.50 

Ogden's Rural Hygiene ........... 1.50 

Roberts's The Farmer's Business Handbook 1.25 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York 
BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO 



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